Man pleads guilty to making fake 999 call about terrorists burning the State Court in Singapore

A 59-year-old Singaporean man with schizophrenia and a history of fabricating messages has pleaded guilty to making two fake reports to the police by stating, among other things, that terrorists had set the State Court on fire.

Police officers were dispatched to the scene immediately after the call on the morning of February 1 this year and found nothing amiss. They later traced the phone call back to a public phone used by Mohamad Adam bin Abdullah.

The court heard on Wednesday (May 6) that Mohamad Adam had called the emergency 999 hotline around 11.30am that day, and said: “Emergency. There is burning the places. There is girl drawing picture. Terrorist burning the State Court.”

Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Alexandra Shamini Joseph said that he abruptly hung up after that.

She said that the police officers who arrived at the State Court were able to establish with the court’s security personnel that there were no signs of fire or unusual activity within the building.

The officers then traced the call to a public phone at 34 Upper Cross Street. They were searching the vicinity when they overheard Mohamad Adam making a second phone call to 999.

DPP Joseph said he was making the call from the same payphone and in his second call made reference to his first police report.

The Police Operations Command Centre confirmed that they had received a second phone call from a man who had the same voice as the first 999 caller, she said.

This time round, Mohamad Adam had said: “Police ah. Seng Wai Hong making a report.” No further details were given by DPP Joseph.

During the hearing, she told the court that Mohamad Adam had a history of committing similar offences.

From 1996 to 2019, he was convicted of three instances of disorderly behavior, two instances of fabricating messages and a single instance of mischief by fire or explosive substance.

DPP Joseph noted that Mohamad Adam’s Institute of Mental Health report stated that he was suffering from schizophrenia, and that he needed a structured environment where his treatment “could be constantly assured”.

District Judge Jasvender Jaur called for a report to assess whether Mohamad Adam is suitable for a mandatory treatment order — a community sentencing option offered to offenders suffering from mental conditions that contributed to the offence.

Source: Today Online