UPDATE: La Andy Hien Duc has been released from prison, despite confessing to consuming a marijuana-laden chocolate bar prior to his flight. During a Singapore Airlines flight from San Francisco to Singapore, Hein Duc insisted there was bomb onboard, prompting the Singaporean Air Force to scramble fighter jets in order to accompany the Airbus A350-900 to Singapore Changi Airport. No bombs were found.
He slapped a Singapore Girl and made a false threat of terrorism. He was found guilty of assault and sentenced to four weeks in jail, but the bomb threat charge was dropped after medical experts said he was mentally ill. A judge explained what he was saying.
“His delusionary beliefs, auditory hallucinations, as well as psychotic thought disorder have greatly contributed to his offending behavior.”
The man will be deported to the US.
Hein Duc admitted to eating a marijuana chocolate bar before he flew. I am surprised that the consumption of drugs did not affect the insanity defense. His U.S. passport may have helped.
There is a story from September 29, 2022, that can be found below.
The American national is accused of making false threats of terrorist acts and of consuming controlled drugs. The Singapore Airlines A350-900 flight was scrambled by the Singaporean Air Force because of his antics.
There was a bomb on the flight from San Francisco to Singapore in the early hours of September 27th. He grabbed a carry-on bag and said the bomb was in it.
The bag's owner stood up and said there was no bomb in it. The man grabbed another bag and claimed the same thing. He is accused of saying:
“I’m certain there’s a bomb in this bag. Arrest me if I’m wrong, but please this is an emergency. You must search this bag.”
The crew restrained the man in the back of the plane as a precautionary measure. The flight was escorted to SIN by fighter jets from the Singapore Air Force.
The plane made a smooth landing at the airport. Passengers weren't allowed to leave for another four hours because it was searched for bombs.
Daniel Smeltzer offered a fascinating account of what happened on the plane.
I have to compliment the staff of @SingaporeAir aboard SQ33 with my family and I. They handled the passengers – fainting ones, “unruly”ones and all – in a very respectful manner. I’m thankful the unruly passenger was mistaken when he announced, “there’s a bomb on the plane!” pic.twitter.com/irYrXceSuc
— Daniel Smeltzer (@dsmeltzer) September 28, 2022
And 2 hours later, I was the first one to report the unruly passenger who announced there was a bomb on the plane. You don’t want to hear something like that these days, and especially on a plane so I immediately reported him to the staff who then escalated.
— Daniel Smeltzer (@dsmeltzer) September 29, 2022
The bomb announcement incident occurred around 7 hours into the flight while most people were sleeping. It seemed to me that he was not an immediate threat but since I was with my 2 kids and wife, still worrisome.
— Daniel Smeltzer (@dsmeltzer) September 29, 2022
Later the man who announced the bomb on the plane “randomly” grabbed the man immediately behind me’s carry-on luggage and said, “there’s a bomb in this bag” and he would’ve opened it except the flight crew intervened and the man behind me said, “excuse me sir that’s my bag.”
— Daniel Smeltzer (@dsmeltzer) September 29, 2022
Had it been a bomb, it would’ve been unfortunate as it was opening immediately adjacent to my seat … in front of the rear toilets on the starboard side of the plane next to the exit & a sleeping honeymoon couple who were totally unaware, with their face masks and headphones on!
— Daniel Smeltzer (@dsmeltzer) September 29, 2022
Thankfully though, it was just a small suitcase of chocolates and small gifts for the man’s family in Malaysia.
— Daniel Smeltzer (@dsmeltzer) September 29, 2022
Following that, the man was escorted back to his seat, he was visibly anxious and it seemed from observing him closely that he was very concerned that there was a bomb he was attempting to discover rather than being a terrorist threatening the flight.
— Daniel Smeltzer (@dsmeltzer) September 29, 2022
And within less than 15 minutes he ran to the same area near my seat and grabbed a random bag from the overhead storage of another passenger, brought it down to the floor and the flight crew immediately acted to stop him.
— Daniel Smeltzer (@dsmeltzer) September 29, 2022
He said something close to, “I’m certain there’s a bomb in this bag. Arrest me if I’m wrong, but please this is an emergency. You must search this bag.” From there the staff talked him down and took him to the back of the plane to relax and calm down.
— Daniel Smeltzer (@dsmeltzer) September 29, 2022
Many other things happened including the passenger getting physically resistant to the crew and staff… thankfully they did a great job of keeping everyone safe and cooperating with the Singapore police who later interviewed me and a few others once we landed.
— Daniel Smeltzer (@dsmeltzer) September 29, 2022
In the end the situation was well managed. No one wants a delay or inconvenience but I’m SO thankful to God it was not a real threat, and that no one was injured.
— Daniel Smeltzer (@dsmeltzer) September 29, 2022
There was a lot of drama on the plane.
This wasn’t the only thing that occurred on the flight. Oddly enough, my wife and I both played key roles in our economy section of the plane. She was the first responder to a woman who fainted as she tried to make her way to the restroom. She aided the #singaporeair staff. pic.twitter.com/uHZVKowBfB
— Daniel Smeltzer (@dsmeltzer) September 29, 2022
A flight...
An American has been charged with making a false bomb threat. If drugs are found in his system, he could face a very serious sentence in a nation that does not like drugs or joking about bombs.
Well done #RSAF pic.twitter.com/UBeaoo4y17
— CryptoBull1024 (@CryptoBull1024) September 28, 2022
The picture is of Singapore MINDEF.
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