SINGAPORE – A security officer allegedly forgot to dispose of a fake improvised explosive device (IED) used in a simulation exercise, sparking an investigation after the police received a call about the item.

Durendran Vicknesh Venkatraman, 46, is also accused of being absent from his workplace for more than five hours and lying to the police that he was away for a short while.

Due to his alleged failure to dispose of the device, police resources were deployed to Sing Industrial Complex in Ang Mo Kio Industrial Park 2 on Jan 5 and more than 100 people were barred from entering the premises before the item was established to be a fake IED.

On April 9, Durendran was charged with causing alarm to the public, falsification of accounts, giving false information to a public servant and being absent from his work without valid reasons.

The Singaporean was supposed to dispose of the fake IED after he received a call from the exercise team at about 4.30am on Jan 5, said the police on April 8. A security company conducted the simulation exercise.

But Durendran had allegedly left the guardhouse on the night of Jan 4 and met friends at Oxley Tower, a business centre in Robinson Road, according to court documents.

He is accused of committing this offence from around 11.20pm on Jan 4 to shortly after 5am the next day.

Durendran was later at the guardhouse, where he allegedly made false entries in a record book, indicating that he was at work from 11.30pm on Jan 4 to 4am on Jan 5.

He is also accused of lying to police officers by stating that he had left the guardhouse for a short while to buy food nearby, when he allegedly went to meet friends.

In their statement, the police said: “CCTV (closed-circuit television) footage showed that he was not present for guardhouse duty for more than five hours... He also admitted to providing false entries in the guardhouse occurrence book to cover up his absence.”

In addition, Durendran is said to have caused alarm to the public by not getting rid of the fake IED.

Earlier media reports stated that the IED was made with cylinder-shaped objects sealed together with black tape.

Durendran’s case has been adjourned to April 30.

If convicted of giving false information to a public servant, he can be jailed for up to six months and fined up to $5,000.

For falsifying accounts, an offender can be jailed for up to 10 years and fined.