Bomb hoax caller arrested

QX179R SG

POLICE have arrested a 39-year-old man for making a bomb-hoax call to the Police emergency hotline '999'.

Police said they received an anonymous call via the emergency hotline '999' at about 3pm on Wednesday from a man who claimed that he was a terrorist and that Sentosa would be blown up.

Following the call, security measures were stepped up while investigators from Central Police Division sprang into action to trace the anonymous caller.

The officers conducted extensive ground enquiries and managed to establish the identity of the suspect. Their efforts paid off when the suspect was spotted by officers along Tras Street at about 11pm. He was arrested.

Investigations revealed that the threat was not substantiated and the call was a hoax.

The suspect will be charged in court 26 on Friday. If convicted, he faces a fine of up to $100,000 or a jail term of up to five years, or both. A court order will also be sought for the suspect to be remanded at the Institute of Mental Health for psychiatric assessment.

-- ST

QX179R SG

Bomb hoax suspect charged

AN ODD-JOB worker was charged on Friday with making an anonymous hoax bomb threat.

Lee Hoong Kong, 39, is alleged to have called the police at 3pm on Wednesday to tell them that the whole of Sentosa would be blown up in less than three hours.

According to the charge, Lee spoke English when he claimed to be a Muslim fundamentalist extremist and his target was Sentosa.

In the call, he is also believed to have said: 'The first scenario will be at the Taiwanese Hot Pot restaurant near Imbiah monorail station. It will happen at 5.45pm. The whole of Sentosa including Resorts World Sentosa Casino will go up in flames as well. Anyway, I have 100 C4 bombs.'

Lee was also charged with allegedly committing mischief at the Sijori Wondergolf Sentosa facility on June 20.

At 1pm, he is said to have damaged a cash register, a credit card reader, a standing fan, the doors to the cashier counter and several other items. Total damage came up to $3150.

The judge ordered him to be remanded at the Institute of Mental Health for psychiatric evaluation. His case will be mentioned in court again on July 23.

-- ST