SINGAPORE — A Singaporean man who lost about S$2,000 (RM6,500) gambling on a cruise ship sent a series of fake bomb threats in a bid to recover his losses, causing hours of disruption and forcing a full security sweep of the vessel.

According to The Straits Times, 41-year-old Neo Hui Ghim admitted in court to one count of communicating false information about a harmful situation. 

Sentencing is set for October 27. He faces up to seven years in jail, a S$50,000 fine, or both.

Prosecutors told the court that Neo had travelled with his parents on a Resorts World Cruises (RWC) ship from Singapore to Malaysia on October 11, 2023. 

During the trip he repeatedly gambled at the ship’s casino and allegedly lost around S$2,000. 

Frustrated at being unable to secure a concert ticket and angry over his losses, Neo began sending threatening e-mails less than an hour after disembarking on October 13.

Using the same address he had used to book the cruise, Neo first wrote to RWC’s “member booking” team with the subject line “Bomb at Resorts World Cruises”

“If I don’t receive the money I hope that one day Resorts World Cruises will explode and all guests and service personnel will drop into the sea. Next time, if I lose again, I’ll make sure the whole cruise is burnt.”

He sent two more e-mails within hours, one warning that “the ship will explode and everyone dropped into the sea” and another stating: “Your cruise will be burnt down.”

Authorities treated the threats seriously. 

Singapore Immigration & Checkpoints Authority officers and police boarded the vessel, carrying out a full search of the casino and cabins.

The operation delayed the boarding of about 4,000 passengers for roughly two hours before the ship was declared safe.

Neo was arrested later that evening. 

Deputy public prosecutors Sruthi Boppana and Kelly Ng said the cruise staff initially struggled to provide clear information to police, with “parties to the call” sounding panicked, which further delayed the incident response.

Neo’s sentencing was originally scheduled for September 22 but was postponed.