Security officer to be charged after forgetting to remove fake bomb in Ang Mo Kio, causing alarm

Elaine Lee
The Straits Times
April 8, 2024

A 46-year-old man will be charged on April 9 for his alleged involvement in an incident relating to a fake bomb.

On Jan 5, the police responded to a call at 8.22am about an item – suspected to be an improvised explosive device (IED) – found at 32 Ang Mo Kio Industrial Park 2, the police said in a statement on April 8.

Police officers conducted security checks and the item was later established to be a fake IED and did not pose a security threat.

According to police investigations, the item was allegedly left behind as part of a simulation exercise conducted by a security company.

The 46-year-old man, a security officer on night shift at the premises, was supposed to dispose of the fake bomb after he received a call from the exercise team at about 4.30am on Jan 5.

But he had forgotten to do so, and was also purportedly not at the guardhouse when the exercise was going on in the early hours of that day, according to the police.

The Straits Times understands that the man’s colleague from the morning shift later reported the fake IED to the police as he was not aware of the exercise.

The man told the police that he was away for a short period to buy food near the site. However, closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage showed that he was not present for his guardhouse duty for more than five hours between Jan 4 and 5.

The man admitted to falsifying entries in his guardhouse’s log book to cover up his absence, the police said.

“Poor management of the exercise resulted in the activation of actual police resources to the scene and more than 100 people were inconvenienced as they were prevented from entering the premises due to the ongoing checks,” the police said.

The man is due to be charged with causing alarm, for being absent for his duties without valid reasons, providing false information to a public servant, and for falsifying accounts.

Those convicted of causing alarm under the Protection from Harassment Act can be fined up to $5,000.

For being absent from security officer duty without valid reasons, the offender can be fined up to $2,000, jailed for up to three months, or both, under the Private Security Industry (Conduct) Regulations.

For providing false information to a public servant, the offender can be jailed up to six months, fined up to $5,000, or both.

Those found to have falsified accounts can be jailed up to 10 years, fined, or both.

“The police treat all security threats seriously and will not hesitate to take action against anyone who causes public alarm due to their negligence. Beyond the fear and inconvenience caused to other members of the public, it comes at a cost of public resources that have to be deployed to deal with the incident,” the police said.