Man arrested after false bomb threat forces Thailand-bound Scoot flight to return to Singapore
The Scoot aircraft landed safely at Changi Airport at 3.23pm onApril 5, 2018.
SINGAPORE - A 41-year-old man has been arrested for making afalse bomb threat on board a Scoot flight from Singapore to HatYai, Thailand, which resulted in the plane returning to ChangiAirport.
Flight TR634, which left Changi Airport at 1.20pm on Thursday(April 5), was escorted back by two Republic of Singapore Air Force(RSAF) F-15SG jets. This is protocol for such incidents, TheStraits Times understands.
The flight landed without incident at 3.23pm. A Scoot spokesmansaid the aircraft was carrying 173 passengers and six crewmembers.
The police said preliminary investigations indicated that thesuspect claimed he had a bomb in his carry-on baggage to a memberof the flight crew. The pilot then decided to turn the plane backto Singapore.
A thorough security search was carried out on board the planeand the baggage of the suspect and his two travelling companionswas examined. But no suspicious articles were found.
The Straits Times understands that the suspect isSingaporean.
He was arrested under Regulation 8(1) of the United Nations(Anti-Terrorism Measures) Regulations, which states that it is anoffence for a person to make false claims that a terrorist act hasbeen, is being or will be carried out.
One of the two Republic of Singapore Air Force fighter jetsdeparting Changi Airport after escorting the Scoot aircraft.
Those found guilty can be punished with a fine not exceeding$500,000 or with imprisonment for a term not exceeding 10 years, orboth.
The bogus bomb threat caused delays to passengers both inSingapore and Hat Yai.
Passengers on Flight TR634 bound for Hat Yai were finally ableto depart again at about 6.30pm after the aircraft was declaredsafe after investigations and associated procedures wereconcluded.
Student Daryl Koh, 18, was in Hat Yai waiting to board thereturn Scoot flight back to Singapore.
Passengers were initially told that the delay was due totechnical issues. He said: "We didn't expect a flight delay, andcertainly not a bomb threat."
In a Facebook post, Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen said that thetwo RSAF fighter jets took off within minutes after they werescrambled.
Dr Ng added that RSAF pilots are on standby round the clock, andthat "every threat is considered real until proven otherwise".
This is the second such threat against a Singapore carrier inrecent weeks.
Last month, a Singapore Airlines flight from Taipei to Singaporewas delayed after a woman called the Taipei police hotline from apayphone, claiming there was a bomb on Flight SQ879.
The plane took off 25 minutes late after the threat wasconfirmed as a hoax.
