Man, 30, to be charged over fake photo of crocodile sighting at Pandan Reservoir

SINGAPORE – A 30-year-old man is set to be charged on Sept 29 for allegedly providing a fake photograph of a crocodile sighting at Pandan Reservoir to the authorities in August.

Water activities in the reservoir were suspended for two days, with national water agency PUB and the National Parks Board (NParks) launching search and capture operations in the area, after PUB received the photo on Aug 20.

In a statement on Sept 28, the police said preliminary investigations found that the man had created an AI-generated image depicting a crocodile at Pandan Reservoir and sent it to his colleague.

He then deleted the image and the related application in an attempt to conceal his actions.

He will be charged for his involvement in communicating false message and obstructing the course of justice.

If found guilty, he could be jailed up to seven years, fined up to $10,000, or both.

PUB had said that it was alerted to the alleged sighting at about 3pm on Aug 20 and NParks was informed.

The agency had also informed the Singapore Rowing Association and Singapore Canoe Federation, which conduct water activities at the reservoir, to suspend all activities.

Signs were also installed around the reservoir to alert members of the public and advise them to exercise caution.

On Aug 21, PUB said in a Facebook post that it had filed a police report after verifying that the photograph of the supposed crocodile was fake.

It added that it had ceased search operations, and water activities in the reservoir were allowed to resume from Aug 22.