A 41-year-old Singaporean man is awaiting sentencing after he admitted to sending fake bomb threats to a cruise company because he was upset over gambling losses. Neo Hui Ghim pleaded guilty to one count of communicating false information about a harmful situation. His actions caused a significant security operation and delayed the boarding of approximately 4,000 passengers for two hours.
The incident stemmed from a cruise trip that Neo took with his parents aboard a Resorts World Cruises ship from Singapore to Malaysia and back. The trip occurred between October 11 and October 13, 2023. During the voyage, Neo was reportedly disappointed after being unable to obtain tickets for a concert on the ship as they were sold out. He subsequently gambled at the ship's casino on several occasions and allegedly lost a total of around 2,000 Singapore dollars.
Less than an hour after the cruise ended at 1:20 PM on October 13, Neo, while riding on an MRT train, began dwelling on his disappointment and his financial losses. In response, he decided to send threatening emails to the cruise company. The first email was sent to the "member booking" team with the subject line "Bomb at Resorts World Cruises." The message contained a threat to explode the cruise ship if his money was not returned.
Shortly before 2:30 PM that same day, Neo sent a second email with an identical subject line, this time to the customer service team, repeating the threat. A third threatening email was sent to a booking team employee at around 3:45 PM, stating that the cruise ship would be "burnt down."
Employees of Resorts World Cruises received the emails and, upon conducting internal checks, identified Neo as the sender because he had used the same email address for the threats as he had for his cruise booking. The company alerted the police. According to court documents, the phone call to the authorities was panicked, and initial confusion existed over whether the threat-maker was still on board a vessel.
The alert triggered a multi-agency response involving the Singapore Police Force and the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority. The authorities determined that Neo had already disembarked. A thorough safety and security check was conducted on the cruise ship, which included searches of the casino and cabins. The process concluded at around 6:45 PM when the ship was declared safe, but it resulted in a two-hour delay for the next group of 4,000 passengers waiting to board. Neo was arrested at approximately 7:30 PM on the same day. Sentencing for the 41-year-old is expected on October 27. The offence carries a maximum penalty of seven years imprisonment, a fine of up to 50,000 Singapore dollars, or both.
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