Teen records another pointing toy gun at retail staff for fun, both arrested for criminal intimidation

Two 16-year-old male teenagers were arrested for suspected criminal intimidation involving the use of a toy gun, said police.

The police received a call for assistance on Monday (April 17) at 7.04am for a case where a toy gun was pointed at a staff of a retail outlet along Yishun Street 22.

Through ground enquiries and with the aid of CCTV, officers from Woodlands Police Division established the identities of the teens involved and arrested them within three hours of the report.

The toy gun, attire of the teens and a handphone that was used to record the prank, were recovered and seized as case exhibits.

From left: The seized attires of the teenager who allegedly held the toy gun and the one who recorded the prank. Photos: Singapore Police Force

Preliminary investigations revealed that the teens had purportedly hatched a plan to scare the staff with the toy gun for fun.

One teen had allegedly approached the cashier counter to make payment for an item, and after the staff had scanned the item, he took out a toy gun and pointed it at the staff. The other teen had recorded the incident.

Upon hearing the staff shouting, they started laughing and revealed that the gun was fake.

The police said they have zero tolerance towards such acts that cause unnecessary alarm in the general public.

Threatening another person with any injury, with intent to cause alarm to that person, amounts to an offence of criminal intimidation, which is punishable with an imprisonment term of up to ten years, and/or a fine.