A 39-year-old Singaporean man allegedly threatened cruise operator Resorts World Cruises, saying that its ship "will explode" if the operator did not return him his money.

Neo Hui Ghim was arrested on Oct. 13, and charged on Oct. 14.

Alleged bomb hoax

According to The Straits Times, Neo allegedly sent an e-mail with the header "Bomb at Resorts World Cruises" to the Resorts World Cruises' customer service department at around 2:30pm on Oct. 13, 2023.

He also allegedly told the cruise operator "please return me back my monies else the ship will explode and everyone dropped into the sea".

The police were alerted to an alleged bomb threat onboard a cruise ship berthed at Marina Bay Cruise Centre at 4:03pm on Oct. 13.

4,000 passengers affected

In response to the threat, the police, Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) and security officers from Marina Bay Cruise Centre conducted extensive security checks on the cruise ship, reported CNA.

This halted operations and caused a two-hour delay in the boarding process, which affected about 4,000 passengers.

No threat items were ultimately found onboard the cruise ship.

Arrested, charged, and remanded

Central Police Division officers established Neo's identity and arrested him within three hours for his alleged involvement in a case of communicating false information of a harmful thing, according to the Singapore Police Force's Oct. 14 statement.

On Oct. 14, 2023, Neo was charged in court with making a threat about a bomb on a cruise ship.

Neo has been remanded at the Institute of Mental Health (IMH) for medical examination.

He is scheduled to return to court on Oct. 27, 2023.

If convicted, Neo may face up a jail term of up to seven years, a fine up to S$50,000, or both.

"The police treat all security threats seriously and will not hesitate to take action against anyone who causes public alarm with false threats," SPF said.

"Beyond the fear and inconvenience caused to other members of the public, the making of false threats comes at a cost of public resources that have to be deployed to deal with the incident."

Top image from Visit Singapore website