He allegedly left his bag unattended for 20 minutes on the train platform of Hougang MRT station, triggering a security alert.

Wang Jianpo, 39, was charged in court yesterday with causing annoyance to the public. The Chinese national is accused of leaving his blue luggage on the platform between 2.25pm and 2.45pm on April 2.

The MRT station was shut down for an hour that day as police were called in to investigate the unattended bag.

Commuters were not allowed into the station and trains on the North-East Line did not stop at the station "for the safety of all passengers". Those who were in the station were also asked to leave.

Commuters were redirected to bus services or other train stations.

The station re-opened shortly after 4pm, after the bag was found not to contain anything suspicious.

Officers from the Ang Mo Kio Police Division and the Public Transport Security Command, with the assistance of SBS Transit, traced the owner of the bag, who was arrested at the station at about 4.35pm.

Dressed in a striped T-shirt and blue jeans, Wang, who was unrepresented, told the court that he intended to plead guilty to the offence.

He will be back in court on June 9.

If convicted of causing annoyance, he can be fined up to $1,000.