SINGAPORE, Dec 22 — Hoping to get arrested to avoid the social problems manifested by his relapse of schizophrenia, a 30-year-old man lied to the cabin crew while on board a flight from Singapore to Perth that he had a bomb in his pocket.

Kevin Francis Hawkins was sentenced to six months’ jail today after he pleaded guilty to making a false bomb threat under the United Nations Act.

A report from the Institute of Mental Health (IMH) here, which was presented to the court, showed that Hawkins experienced a relapse of schizophrenia during his holiday in Phuket, Thailand, just before the incident.

District Judge Elton Tan said that Hawkins’ schizophrenia relapse contributed to his warped understanding of the situation, which caused unfounded feelings and impaired his judgement.

‘I have a bomb’

Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Grace Chua told the court that on October 12 this year, Hawkins and his wife were passengers on board Scoot flight TR16.

They were travelling from Phuket to Perth via Singapore.

The flight departed from Changi Airport at 4.12pm with a total of 11 crew members and 363 passengers onboard.

At around 4.30pm, shortly after the seatbelt sign was turned off, Hawkins got up from his seat and walked to the ‘Scoot in Silence’ zone of the flight’s economy cabin, located at the front of the plane.

Air steward Muhammad Nur Syafiq Haroon, 25, spotted Hawkins and asked if he needed any assistance.

Hawkins moved closer to Syafiq and said softly in an emotionless tone: "I have a bomb.”

Stunned by Hawkins’ remark, Syafiq asked if the Australian could repeat what he said but Hawkins ignored him and returned to his seat.

Syafiq quickly followed after him and asked Hawkins to clarify what he had said.

Hawkins then repeated "I have a bomb” softly in the same tone and mimicked an explosion with hand gestures.

Syafiq immediately alerted Celine Fong, 52, who was the chief of the cabin crew on that flight.

She then approached Hawkins for clarification on his comments.

He then repeated what he told Syafiq and pointed to his left trousers pocket.

Fong asked what the item was and Hawkins took out a nasal inhaler from his pocket.

After Hawkins opened it under Fong’s instructions, she found that it appeared to be a normal nasal inhaler.

She then asked if he knew what the consequences were for alleging that he had a bomb, to which he replied that he was aware of the consequences.

At this point, Hawkins’ wife told Fong that they were travelling together and that he had "mental problems”.

Even though Hawkins knew that he did not have a bomb onboard with him, he wanted to be arrested after the plane landed in Perth so as to avoid "his perceived social problems”, DPP Chua said without elaborating what these perceived problems were.

Fong later notified the pilot about what had happened as a precaution given that it was unclear if Hawkins had an explosive in his carry-on or checked-in bags.

The aftermath

In accordance with established protocol, the pilot reported "Mayday” and notified the Scoot Control Centre of the incident as the flight would be turning back to Singapore.

At 4.54pm, Scoot’s security specialist Xu Haishan, 35, notified the Airport Police Division.

Two Republic of Singapore Air Force fighter aircrafts were activated to escort flight TR16 on the rest of its journey back to Changi Airport.

The flight landed at 6.26pm in a remote location within the airport.

Numerous airport staff members and police officers were mobilised to respond to this and the area was cordoned off while the Special Operations Command K-9 unit conducted security checks.

A team of officers from the Airport Emergency Services were also activated.

All hand-carry and check-in luggage, including the personal belongings of Hawkins and his wife, underwent security checks but nothing incriminating was found.

Hawkins was then escorted out of the plane and placed under arrest at 9.10pm.

All crew members and remaining passengers were only allowed to reboard the plane at 10.44pm and the flight eventually departed Singapore for Perth at 11.41pm.

Following his arrest, Hawkins was remanded for psychiatric assessment at IMH where he was assessed to have had a relapse of schizophrenia and a major depressive episode when he made the false bomb threat.

Substantial public resources expended

Seeking a jail term of between four and six months, DPP Chua argued that in an age where the spectre of terrorism is both present and real, bomb hoaxes are particularly harmful because it is often difficult to ascertain if the threat is genuine or false.

"Each time such false threats are made, substantial public resources are inevitably expended to address the perceived threat.

"This represents a considerable drain on our essential and emergency services, which reduces their capacity to respond to actual incidents.”

She added that Hawkins’ bomb threat was also made onboard a plane, which creates a difficulty of obtaining assistance from law enforcement.

"There is also no means of escape from a plane until it lands, and all parties subjected to the bomb hoax are forced to remain onboard and endure distress.”

For making a false bomb threat under the United Nations Act, Hawkins could have been jailed for up to 10 years or fined up to S$500,000 (RM1.7 million), or both. — TODAY