While waiting for take-off on a plane that was departing Singapore for Abu Dhabi, a young man posted on his Instagram account: “No one here knows I’m gonna blow the plane up.”
Azim Shah Abubakar Shah, 22, later said it was a joke, but the damage was done as the message caused the flight to be recalled from the runway and delayed for over two hours.
Yesterday, Azim was fined S$3,500 (RM11,410) after he pleaded guilty to one count of making threatening communication likely to cause alarm.
Deputy public prosecutor Timotheus Koh told the court that Azim posted the Instagram story with the bomb threat on Feb 14 at about 6.55pm
It could be viewed by only 16 of his friends.
At about 7.20pm, the police received information from a law enforcement team member at Meta, the company that owns Instagram, reporting that he had detected Azim’s threat.
The police traced the message to Azim and the flight he was on was recalled to Terminal 2. He was escorted from the plane and his luggage was searched.
The flight was allowed to depart at about 9.26pm.
The delay resulted in the airline incurring a late departure payment of S$1,750 to Changi Airport. — The Straits Times/ANN
