A man made more than 1,000 silent calls to 4 police centres in Singapore "for fun and enjoyment".
He was sentenced to 23 days' jail: https://cna.asia/4d05Pss
Full Details of the Case
Offender: Foo Jia Hong, 37, Singaporean
Sentence: 23 days' jail, handed down on 26 August 2026 at the State Courts.
What He Did
Between 21 April and 29 April 2026, Foo made over 1,000 silent calls to the landlines of four Neighbourhood Police Centres (NPCs):
- Ang Mo Kio North NPC
- Bedok NPC
- Geylang NPC
- Yishun NPC — the main charge concerned this centre, where he made 425 silent calls; officers answered 330 of them.
He obtained the phone numbers from NPC call directories and leaflets, and said he made the calls "for fun and enjoyment". The unanswered calls also kept lines occupied, queuing and delaying other incoming calls.
How He Did It
The SIM card he used was registered under a foreign worker who had discarded it. Foo found it inside a second-hand phone cover he bought at an Ang Mo Kio night market in early 2026.
Legal Proceedings
- He pleaded guilty to one charge of voluntarily obstructing public servants at Yishun NPC; the other three sets of calls were taken into consideration for sentencing.
- Maximum penalty: up to 6 months' jail, S$6,500 fine, or both.
- Prosecution sought 3–5 weeks' jail, noting a prior conviction in January 2025 for communicating false messages.
- Defence argued for 2 weeks' jail, pointing out these were non-emergency NPC lines, not the 999 emergency hotline.
- He was arrested in May 2026 and sent to the Institute of Mental Health for assessment — found to have mild intellectual disability, but this was not a contributing factor to the offences.
- In sentencing, District Judge Koo Zhi Xuan cited deterrence as the primary consideration, while also taking his condition into account.