Man threatening to join IS, bomb Singapore ordered to take mandatory treatment

A man who made the "empty threat" to join the Islamic State (IS) and bomb Singapore has been ordered to undergo 24 months of mandatory treatment for multiple mental conditions by the court, local media reported Monday.

The 37-year-old male, who has a history of depression and bipolar disorder, made the threat in November last year. He said so in the hope that the police would send him to the Institute of Mental Health (IMH) or to jail, according to Channel NewsAsia.

Prosecutors told the court that the man "had absolutely no intention to join IS or bomb Singapore", as he was not in communication with anybody linked to IS and "didn't know nor have the means to make a bomb".

When police officers were deployed to arrest the man, he didn't put up any resistance. On the contrary, he provided the police with his name and address, hoping to reunite with his mother and former girlfriend. Both of them live at IMH currently.

The man was initially charged for making a false threat of a terrorist act. But his charge was reduced to one of transmitting a false message to the police due to his psychiatric illness, according to the prosecution.

The court agreed with the prosecution to place the man on a 24-month mandatory treatment in light of his serious mental illness.

Any person who transmits a false message could be sentenced to jail for up to three years and/or fined up to 10,000 Singapore dollars (6992 U.S. dollars), according to the Telecommunications Act. Endit