PUB did AI checks on fake Pandan Reservoir crocodile image but got ‘inconclusive’ results

National water agency PUB has shared that the 30-year-old Myanmar man who was charged for creating an AI-generated image of a crocodile at Pandan Reservoir is a worker employed by their reservoir maintenance contractor.

The man, Ye Lin, also deleted the image from his phone. He was later charged in court on Sep. 29.

In a Oct. 1 Facebook post, PUB said. it had attempted to verify the authenticity of the image using several AI checker tools, but the results were “inconclusive”.

Supervisor alerted PUB

According to PUB, his supervisor alerted the agency to the image on Aug. 20.

After getting “inconclusive” results on whether the image was AI-generated, PUB and the National Parks Board (NParks) took immediate steps to deploy resources to conduct search and capture operations in the area.

“In the interest of public safety, PUB acted quickly and took the necessary precautionary measures,” the agency said.

When it was established that the image was fake, PUB made a police report.

In an earlier post, PUB urged the public to avoid circulating false information or edited images that could cause alarm, noting that such incidents could result in unnecessary deployment of public resources.

Man charged

Ye was charged on Sep. 29 with communicating a false message and obstructing the course of justice.

He was granted agency bail of S$5,000, with his next court date scheduled for Nov. 10.