SINGAPORE - A driver, who purposely left a bag with an attached toy grenade near Hong Lim Park in 2017, was fined $4,500 on Tuesday (Oct 1).

Ho Hee Hew, 59, pleaded guilty last month to one count of harassment.

He committed the offence as he wanted to alarm a nearby group of protesters so that they would leave the area.

He had earlier found the bag with the attached toy grenade elsewhere. The court heard that the bag contained old toys.

He was cycling near Exit A of Clarke Quay MRT station at around 4.30pm on Sept 16, 2017, when he spotted about 800 people in Hong Lim Park at a protest against the reserved presidency.

He flung the bag towards a nearby wheelchair ramp and left the scene.

A man later found the unattended bag and alerted the police at around 5pm.

TransCom officers of the Singapore Police Force were then activated.

Exit A of Clarke Quay MRT station had to be closed for about 15 minutes, causing inconvenience to 20 passengers.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Thiagesh Sukumaran had earlier said: "TransCom officers found that the bag did not contain a threat to public safety.

"The bag did not cause any disturbance to the protesters."

Ho was caught committing the offence on a closed-circuit television camera and was arrested the next day.

He told the police that he disagreed with the protesters and wanted to cause alarm so that they would leave the area.

For committing the offence, Ho could have been fined up to $5,000.