SINGAPORE, Dec 22 — A 26-year-old church volunteer is set to be charged in court today with making a false threat of a terrorist act, after he allegedly staged a bomb hoax that forced the evacuation of St Joseph’s Church yesterday.
The Singaporean man was arrested on Dec 21, the same day the incident occurred. Police will also apply for him to be remanded for a psychiatric evaluation, The Straits Times reported.
According to police, preliminary investigations suggest the volunteer acted alone when he “placed a self-fabricated item which resembled an improvised explosive device within the church premises.”
In a statement, police clarified that there is “no evidence to suggest that it was a religiously motivated attack or an act of terror.”
The incident unfolded yesterday, when a suspicious item — described as three cardboard rolls and wires stuck together with black tape — was discovered at the church on Upper Bukit Timah Road at around 7.10am just before the 7.30am mass.
The church was immediately evacuated, and all mass services were cancelled for the day as the Singapore Armed Forces’ bomb disposal unit was called in.
They later declared the item to be harmless.
If found guilty of making a false terror threat under the United Nations (Anti-terrorism Measures) Regulations, the man faces a jail term of up to 10 years, a fine of up to S$500,000 (RM1.5 million), or both.
