PUBLISHED ONDecember 22, 2025 2:28 AMBYSean LerA 26-year-old Singaporean man who was arrested on Sunday (Dec 21) for allegedly staging a fake improvised explosive device incident at St Joseph's Church in Bukit Timah was charged in court on Monday morning (Dec 22).
Kokulananthan Mohan was charged under the United Nations (Anti-terrorism Measures) Regulations.
According to his charge sheet seen by AsiaOne, Kokulananthan is accused of making a false terrorist threat by placing three cardboard rolls "filled with stone pebbles and sporting protruding red wires, held together using black and yellow adhesive tapes" in the church at about 7.10am on Sunday.
He is alleged to have done so with the intention of inducing another person to falsely believe that the article would explode, thereby causing personal injury or damage to property.
The police said that Kokulananthan is believed to have acted alone.
"There is currently no evidence to suggest that it was a religiously motivated attack or an act of terror," added the police.
Kokulananthan has been remanded for three weeks for psychiatric evaluation.
If found guilty, he could be jailed for up to 10 years, fined up to $500,000, or both.
The police received a call for assistance at the church about 7.10am.
At about 10.05am, the police said the Singapore Armed Forces' Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Explosive Defence Group (CBRE) had been activated and was on-site.
At about 10.45am, police officers were seen searching a white multi-purpose vehicle (MPV) at the church carpark.
In a subsequent post at 11.08am, the police said the suspicious item was found to be harmless.
At around 1.40pm, a bespectacled man wearing a blue short-sleeve shirt and in handcuffs was seen being questioned by investigators. Crime scene specialists were seen marking down some compartments in the car and taking photographs.
The suspect was then led away in an unmarked vehicle just after 2.10pm.
In an update on Facebook at 4.38pm, St Joseph's Church said they will resume masses on Monday.
Several police vehicles were later seen leaving the premises at around 5pm.
Police lifted all access restrictions put in place earlier for public safety at 5.15pm.
[[nid:727067]]
