SINGAPORE - The 37-year-old man who claimed there was a bomb on board a Singapore Airlines (SIA) flight is set to receive a stern warning for using threatening words.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Lim Ying Min said on Thursday that the prosecution intends to issue a stern warning to Hien Duc after reviewing a report from the Institute of Mental Health (IMH).
American Hien Duc was one of 208 passengers on board SQ33, which left San Francisco at 10.26pm on Sept 26 (1.26pm on Sept 27, Singapore time). The flight was scheduled to arrive in Singapore at 5am on Sept 28.
In her written submissions, DPP Lim had said a psychiatrist from IMH had assessed that Hien Duc posed a danger to the public.
She added: “The stressors of being in a foreign country, including the fact that he has no fixed place to stay and no one to monitor his compliance with his medications, are risk factors for relapse.”
Hien Duc’s lawyer Johannes Hadi, from Eugene Thuraisingam law firm, told The Straits Times his client has been diagnosed with schizophrenia.
Hien Duc is also expected to plead guilty to a charge of slapping a man while on board SQ33.
Preliminary investigations revealed that nearly six hours before the plane’s arrival in Singapore, he claimed there was a bomb in a hand-carry bag.
He then grabbed another passenger’s luggage from the cabin’s overhead compartment.
When a cabin crew tried to intervene and restrain him, Hien Duc allegedly assaulted him.
Checks by the cabin crew did not reveal any suspicious items in the passenger’s luggage.
Police were alerted to the alleged bomb threat and the plane was escorted to Changi Airport by Republic of Singapore Air Force fighter jets.
The Airport Police Division and Special Operations Command’s K-9 Unit, as well as the Singapore Armed Forces’ Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Explosives Defence Group, were mobilised to investigate, and the threat turned out to be false.
Hien Duc will return to court to plead guilty on Nov 4. For voluntarily causing hurt, he can be jailed up to three years, fined up to $5,000, or both. For using threatening words likely to cause alarm, he can be fined up to $5,000.
