SINGAPORE, Oct 6 — A 22-year-old man was fined S$3,500 (RM11,409) after posting a bomb threat on Instagram while seated on a plane preparing to depart Changi Airport.
Azim Shah Abubakar Shah pleaded guilty to one count of making threatening communication likely to cause alarm, according to a report by the Straits Times.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Timotheus Koh told the court that Azim posted the message on February 14 at 6.55pm, writing: “No one here knows I’m gonna blow the plane up.”
Meta, the company that owns Instagram, alerted police at around 7.20pm after a law enforcement team member detected the post.
Authorities traced the message to Azim, who was on board Etihad Airways Flight EY499 bound for Abu Dhabi and still on the runway.
Police recalled the flight to Terminal 2, escorted Azim off the plane, and searched his luggage before arresting him at 12.10am on February 15.
The flight eventually departed at 9.26pm, with the airline incurring a late departure fee of S$1,750 to Changi Airport.
Koh said Azim’s actions caused substantial consequences, including inconvenience to passengers and crew, financial penalties and the deployment of resources to verify the threat.
Azim’s lawyer requested a S$1,000 fine, citing his client’s remorse and plans to continue national service and further studies.
Koh argued the proposed fine was inadequate and said the penalty should reflect the cost of Azim’s actions to others.
The maximum penalty for the offence is S$5,000.
