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SINGAPORE: A man was charged on Wednesday (May 13) with making 1,035 silent phone calls to police hotlines over a week.<\/p>\n
Foo Jia Hong, a 37-year-old Singaporean, was ordered to be remanded at the Institute of Mental Health (IMH) for medical examination.<\/p>\n
Foo was handed four charges of obstructing a public servant in the discharge of public functions, and a fifth charge of using another person’s personal information to commit an offence.<\/p>\n
According to charge sheets, Foo made the calls between Apr 21 and Apr 28 this year to the landlines of neighbourhood police centres in Yishun, Bedok, Geylang and Ang Mo Kio North.<\/p>\n
As a result, 19 police team leaders supervising the manning of the police counters were obstructed in the performance of their police duties, the charges stated.<\/p>\n
Yishun Neighbourhood Police Centre received the highest number of calls at 425, according to the charges.<\/p>\n
Foo is also accused of using a SIM card registered to another person to make the silent calls.<\/p>\n
The police said in a statement that the caller took “elaborate measures to conceal his identity” including remaining silent and using a foreign number to make the calls.<\/p>\n
Officers from Woodlands Police Division established his identity and arrested him on May 11.<\/p>\n
The police said they take a serious view of people who make silent or false calls to police hotlines to obstruct their duties and will spare no effort to trace and prosecute them in court where necessary.<\/p>\n
If convicted of obstructing a public servant in the discharge of his public functions, Foo could be jailed for up to six months, fined up to S$2,500 (US$1,970), or both.<\/p>\n
If convicted of using a SIM card registered using another person’s information for criminal activity, he could be jailed for up to three years, fined up to S$10,000, or both.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n