A security officer was charged in court on Tuesday ( Apr 9 ) over his actions during a fake bomb exercise by a security company at a building in Ang Mo Kio.
Durendran Vicknesh Venkatraman reportedly left his entrance at the building  to meet his friends, allegedly forged a record that indicated he was there when he was n’t and forgot to dispose of the false weapon as instructed.
The 46-year-old Singaporean was charged with four counts of causing concern to the people by refusing to dispose of the false bomb, abusing guardhouse duty without giving a reason, lying to the police about leaving the guardhouse to get food, and fabricating a record that claimed he was at the guardhouse when he was not, among other things.
A security firm used the false improvised explosive system during a “red-teaming training” at 32 Ang Mo Kio Industrial Park 2 in early January, according to a police statement.
Red-teaming exercises are those that act as real-world simulations of threats.
When the training was taking place, Durendran worked a security agent on the night shift.
Nevertheless, he was reportedly absent from the field for more than five hours.
The team’s exercise team called him about 4:30 a.m. to ask him to dispose of the false violent gadget.
Durendran omitted to do so. He allegedly lied to the authorities that he had left the gate for a short while to get food outside, and reportedly fabricated a report in the incident reserve to cover up his absence.
According to the records, he was working in the entrance from 11:30 p.m. on January 4 to 4 a.m. on January 5. He reportedly left the gate at this time to meet his friends at Oxley Tower.
On January 5, around 8.20am, the officers responded to a contact about a suspicious object that had been discovered at the Ang Mo Kio place.
The officers conducted safety checks and determined that the system was an untrue improvised explosive system.
More than 100 people were harmed by the lack of proper administration of the training because of continuing checks, according to the police in a statement.
Durendran stated in court that he would be filing a criminal verdict, but he wanted to retain a solicitor.
At the end of this quarter, he may be back in court.
He could face fines of up to S$ 5, 000 ( US$ 3, 700 ) if found guilty of raising alarm in violation of the Protection from Harassment Act.
If found guilty of failing to perform his safety duties without a true justification, he could face jail time for up to three months, a fine of up to S$ 2, 000, or both.
For decorating false information to a common servant, he could be jailed for up to six months, fined up to S$ 5, 000, or both.
For concealing accounts, he could be jailed for up to 10 times, fined, or both.