Man charged over bomb threat made on plane leaving Singapore

Azim Shah Abubakar Shah was handed one charge of communicating false information on a harmful thing.ST PHOTO: KELVIN CHNG

SINGAPORE – A man who allegedly made a bomb threat while on a plane that was departing Singapore for Abu Dhabi was charged on June 5.

Azim Shah Abubakar Shah, 22, was handed one charge of communicating false information on a harmful thing.

According to court documents, the Singaporean was on board an Etihad Airways plane on Feb 14 when he allegedly posted the threat on his Instagram account under the username “fruitloops_19”.

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He was said to have written “no one knows that I’m gonna blow the plane up” in the post, which was viewed by 16 people.

The police said they were alerted to the bomb hoax at 7:20 pm. Officers from the Airport Police Division identified Azim within an hour of the post and confirmed that he was on board a flight bound for Abu Dhabi.

The plane, which was already taxiing on the runway and about to take off, was recalled to Changi Airport Terminal 2, and Azim was arrested.

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It was discovered that he did not have any means to carry out his threat, as no threat items were found in his possession, the police said.

If convicted, he may be jailed for up to seven years, fined up to $50,000, or both. /dl