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S'pore arrests teen for threatening Facebook post

Local police arrest 13-year-old boy for threatening to bomb a casino resort on Facebook, and he faces a possible hefty fine and even jail time.
Written by Liau Yun Qing, Contributor

The Singapore police have arrested a 13-year-old boy who posted a threat on Facebook saying he wants to bomb a local luxury casino resort.

According to a report by The Straits Times Tuesday, the teenager wrote a Facebook post saying he will take "a big big revenge" and "spit everywhere" and "plant bombs on [casino resort] Marina Bay Sands" the day he leaves the country.

The boy cannot be named as he is a minor, but is believed to be from India and attending school in Singapore, it added.

According to a separate Channel NewsAsia report on the same day, police have classified the case as Breach of Prohibition Against False Threats of Terrorist Acts. Offenders face a fine not exceeding S$100,000 (US$81,847), or imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years, or both.

This is not the first time the Singapore police have made a social media-related arrest. In 2010, a man was arrested on charges related to incitement of violence. He wrote in a Facebook post threatening to set a local cabinet minister on fire.

While social media-related arrests have happened, a lawyer, Elle Todd, told ZDNet Asia in October 2012 that Singapore will unlikely implement social media laws as it is a huge leap from how it manages other cyber-related issues.

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