Singaporean man faces jail for pranking ex-PM Lee with fake Marina Bay Sands fire photo

A Singaporean man is facing jail time for sending an edited photo of Marina Bay Sands (MBS) on fire to Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s Facebook page while mentioning a “bomb”.

Andie Tan Kok Yong, a 35-year-old Singaporean, pleaded guilty on Thursday to one charge of knowingly sending a false message under the Miscellaneous Offences (Public Order and Nuisance) Act.

A second charge of obstructing the course of justice by performing a factory reset of his phone will be considered in sentencing.

In September 2025, Tan was using Facebook when he chanced on an image of MBS on fire.

Despite knowing it was fake, he saved the image on his phone and sent it to Lee’s official Facebook page via the Facebook Messenger function at about 3pm on September 29, 2025.

He also sent a message: “Bomb $1,500billion++wit management approved of 1st boss not merlion boss of tan jun yan.”