Singapore hit by bomb hoaxes after Boston attacks

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SINGAPORE: A 34-year-old man has been arrested in Singapore over an online threat to bomb several locations in the city-state in the aftermath of the Boston Marathon attack, police said yesterday.

The man, whose name and nationality were not disclosed, was arrested on Thursday after posting the threat as a comment on a news article about the deadly bombings in Boston, police said in a statement.

“Preliminary investigations indicated that the suspect had no intention or means to carry out his threats,” said the statement.

Local daily The Straits Times reported the man had posted the comment on the Yahoo! Singapore website.

Making bomb threats in Singapore is an offence punishable by a maximum of five years in jail or a fine of up to S$100,000 (US$82,000), or both.

Separately, police said they were investigating a threat to bomb the Singapore Marathon in December, with no arrests made so far.

The police statement said authorities took a serious view of anyone who “capitalises on recent security concerns” to alarm the public with bomb hoaxes, and would spare no effort to track down those responsible.

Earlier Saturday, a Singapore Airlines (SIA) plane carrying 280 passengers from Manila was inspected by police due to what the carrier called a “potential security incident”. Passengers were allowed to leave at around 3am (1900 GMT), four hours after landing in Singapore’s Changi Airport. — AFP