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The 37-year-old man who made a bomb threat on board a Singapore Airlines (SIA) flight on Sep. 28, 2022 was sentenced to four weeks' jail on Nov. 4 for slapping a cabin crew member.

According to charge sheets seen by Mothership, La Andy Hien Duc faced one charge each for assaulting the cabin crew member and making a false bomb threat.

CNA and The Straits Times reported that Hien Duc pleaded guilty to the charge of voluntarily causing hurt by slapping the cabin crew member on board flight SQ33 from San Francisco to Singapore.

Jail sentence backdated

His four-week jail sentence will be backdated as he was remanded in Singapore for more than a month. This means that he will not serve any additional jail time.

He is expected to be deported on Nov. 5, reported ST.

For his false bomb threat charge, Hien Duc was given a discharge amounting to an acquittal, which means that he cannot be charged with the same offence again.

The prosecution previously administered a "stern warning" to him about the bomb threat.

Diagnosed with schizophrenia

ST reported that Hien Duc was diagnosed with schizophrenia, adding that a psychiatrist from the Institute of Mental Health (IMH) deemed him "a danger to the public".

Hien Duc's lawyer said, as reported by CNA, that Hien Duc started hearing voices in his head about a year and a half ago.

He had not been previously diagnosed in the U.S..

According to CNA, Hien Duc was heading to Phuket for a pilgrimage as he believed he was a holy deity.

He intended to transit in Singapore and boarded flight SQ33 alone on Sep. 26 in San Francisco.

He had also knowingly eaten a chocolate bar infused with cannabis.

Heard a voice in his head telling him there was a bomb

During the flight, Hien Duc heard a voice in his head telling him that there was a bomb on the plane, CNA reported.

Believing the bomb was in another passenger's bag, he removed it from the overhead compartment.

A cabin crew member approached Hien Duc and checked the bag after the latter claimed that there was a bomb in it.

There was no bomb found in the bag.

Hien Duc then tried to remove more bags from overhead compartments, before he was escorted by the air steward and the inflight manager to the galley of the plane.

According to CNA, Hien Duc tried to run away twice while in the galley but after some time, he claimed he was feeling better and asked the cabin crew to release their grip on him.

However, when they released Hien Duc, he slapped the air steward on the cheek.

Hien Duc was subsequently restrained with straps for the rest of the flight.

RSAF fighter jets deployed

The plane landed at Changi Airport at about 5:50am on Sep. 28, having been escorted by Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) fighter jets.

The aircraft was then taxied to a remote area of the airport for security checks, before being towed to Changi Airport Terminal 3.

Hien Duc's bomb threat was later verified to be false and he was arrested by the Singapore police.

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Top images via veratheape on Twitter.