Singapore charged Foo Jia Hong, a Singaporean, on May 13 over more than 1,035 silent calls made to neighbourhood police centre hotlines between April 21 and April 28, police and court reports said. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
Police said the caller used a foreign number and stayed silent to hide his identity. The police force said he used “elaborate measures to conceal his identity,” adding that it takes a serious view of silent or false calls made to obstruct police work and will trace and prosecute callers where necessary. [1, 2]
Court reports said the affected centres included Yishun, Bedok, Geylang and Ang Mo Kio North, with Yishun receiving 425 calls, the most among those listed. Police also said 19 police team leaders supervising police counters were obstructed in carrying out their duties. [3, 4]
Foo faces charges linked to obstructing a public servant in the discharge of public functions and using another person’s personal information or a SIM card registered under another person’s details for criminal activity, court reports said. The obstructing-a-public-servant offence carries a maximum penalty of up to 6 months in jail and/or a fine of up to S$2,500, while the SIM card or personal information offence carries up to 3 years in jail and/or a fine of up to S$10,000. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
Officers from the Woodlands Police Division arrested him on May 11. The court ordered him remanded at the Institute of Mental Health for medical examination on May 13, and the case is scheduled to be mentioned again on May 26. [1, 2, 6, 3, 4, 5]
