Serious SG51 boy do 18mth extra NS @ Changi for bomb hoax unhappy on NSF

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An honorable member of the Coffee Shop Has Just Posted the Following:

MSK laughed his ass off!

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/...s/3352936.html

18 months’ jail for netizen whose bomb hoax caused 'enormous disruption'
Posted 08 Dec 2016 23:11 Updated 08 Dec 2016 23:20
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SINGAPORE: A 23-year-old Singaporean was on Thursday (Dec 8) sentenced to 18 months' jail for an online bomb hoax that caused "enormous disruption" as authorities investigated the threat.

Sze Kai Xuan's hoax resulted in about 95 per cent of the Public Transport Security Command manpower being diverted to respond to the threat, said the district judge who sentenced him.

Police officers were sent to 18 MRT stations along the East-West, North-South and North-East lines, conducting checks and foot patrols at the stations to detect suspicious objects or people.

Sze admitted to posting fake threat on social network Tagged under the user name Constatine S: Today is the day everyone, cherish it before I bomb City Hall."

District Judge Shawn Ho noted that Sze targeted City Hall for the hoax as it was a "prominent icon" in central Singapore, and that on the same day - Jan 14 - bombs exploded in central Jakarta, killing four civilians and injuring many others in the Indonesian capital.

"Until such time as the authorities are able to determine that the threat is false, any threat made has to be treated as genuine," said District Judge Ho. "Resources, whether manpower, equipment or time, and perhaps most importantly – attention – are expended in investigating false bomb threats."

Police officers had to deviate from their work schedules to respond to the bomb threat, which affected their day-to-day duties, observed District Judge Ho. "The net effect was a severe drain on the Public Transport Security Command’s resources," he said.

"When the sentinels’ focus was diverted to responding to false threats, valuable attention was removed from guarding against actual threats of terror attacks, thereby endangering all of us."

In sentencing Sze, the district judge noted his "excellent National Service record" into consideration, noting that Sze claimed that he was frustrated with the long academic route that he had to take, compared to those who did not have to go through National Service.

However, District Judge Ho stressed that it was "vital to send a clear message to all potential offenders that bomb hoaxes and threats of terror attacks will be punished with substantial custodial sentences".

"Singapore faces an ever-present terror threat that is at its highest level in recent times," said District Judge Ho.

"Against this backdrop of a fraught security climate, bomb hoaxes clearly exploit general apprehension and anxiety. Such reprehensible conduct must be strongly punished and deterred."

Sze is currently on bail pending the hearing of his appeal.

- CNA/xk


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