A BUS driver who gave false information to the police about sighting fugitive Mas Selamat Kastari was jailed a total of 21 months on Monday.

Ng Hang Hai, 49, received the maximum one year's jail for lying that a motorcylist had given a ride to the escaped Jemaah Islamiah terrorist on Feb 27, the day he fled from the Whitley Road Detention Centre.

He was also jailed another nine months for lying to police on March 1 that he saw someone who looked like the JI leader board a bus and alight along Lentor Avenue.

District Judge Hoo Sheau Peng ordered the two sentences to run consecutively.

A third charge was taken in consideration, to which Ng admitted telling police that he saw Mas Selamat alight from the motorbike outside the Singapore Polo Club on Thomson Road, board a TIB bus and get off at Lentor Avenue. This tip-off led police to investigate the motorcyle's owner's involvement in the escape.

Ng made the calls three days after Mas Selamat escaped, touching off a massive island-wide manhunt.

The truth was that he was angry with the motorcyclist for having obstructed his bus along Victoria Street on the evening of Feb 27.

When he sounded his horn at the deliveryman, he claimed the motorcyclist showed him an obscene sign.

Three-and-a-half hours earlier, Ng lied when he called 999 and said he saw someone resembling Mas board a bus and alight along Lentor Avenue on Feb 27.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Wendy Yap said Ng had given a detailed description of the Malay pillion rider in his written statement to the police.

He claimed that the man, clad in blue jeans and wearing a pair of slippers, walked with a limp on his left leg, which had dried blood, and both his forearms had scratch marks.

He said the moment the man boarded his bus, he spoke in Malay with an Indonesian accent, saying he had lost his wallet and asked for a free ride.

Ng further claimed the man thanked him before alighting along Lentor Avenue opposite the Seletar Satellite Station.

DPP Yap said Ng came clean three days later on March 4. He admitted then he had lied as he hoped to get a $5,000 to $10,000 reward when the police eventually caught Mas.

He also admitted that he had lied about Mas riding pillion on the man's motorcycle out of anger over the road traffic incident.

The description he gave of Mas in fact came from the photograph published in the Shin Min Daily News. He had mentioned Lentor Avenue since he thought this would be more believable as it was a forested place.

DPP Yap said he had fabricated the story down to the last detail so that the police would believe his story.

She argued that Ng had blatantly perpetrated the falsehood for a personal gain, tried to get an innocent party into trouble for a serious offence out of a sense of revenge, and caused that man to be subjected to police investigations and possible arrest.

Public policy, she said, demands that similar acts of public nuisance, which divert police and public resources away from critical functions, must be curbed immediately and decisively.

'A strong message must be sent to all potential offenders that such hoaxes and false tip-offs cannot and will not be tolerated,' she added.

Judge Hoo agreed with the prosecution that Ng's actions jeopardised the ongoing search for Mas, and a substantial jail sentence was warranted.

The judge reminded the public to stay vigilant and come forward with genuine leads that could assist in the arrest of Mas.

Police said the public should continue to call 999 immediately if they see any suspicious person or activities, no matter how trivial the information might be.

'Police appreciate all calls and information provided by members of the public as long as they are done in good faith. We take all such information provided seriously,' said police spokesman Danny Tan.