A 30-year-old Myanmar national who was charged over an artificial intelligence (AI)-generated image of a crocodile at Pandan Reservoir works for its contractor, national water agency PUB said in a Facebook post on Thursday (1 Oct).
The fake photo led to the authorities suspending water activities in the reservoir and conducting search-and-capture operations.
Source: Google Maps
The man, identified by Channel NewsAsia (CNA) as Ye Lin, was charged in court on Tuesday (29 Sept).
In its post, PUB said he is a worker employed by its reservoir maintenance contractor.
The Singapore Police Force (SPF) said that he had allegedly sent the AI-generated image to a colleague, named in court documents as Min Min Oo.
Ye Lin’s supervisor subsequently alerted PUB to it on 20 Aug. It is not certain whether Min Min Oo and his supervisor are the same person.
Meanwhile, Ye Lin deleted the AI-generated images and Gemini AI app history from his phone.
When PUB received the image, it immediately attempted to verify its authenticity.
However, despite running it through various AI checker tools, the results were inconclusive.
Thus, PUB acted quickly and took the necessary precautionary measures in the interest of public safety.
Source: National Parks Board. Photo for illustration purposes only.
This included suspending all water activities in the reservoir and commencing search-and-capture operations.
When PUB established that the image was fake, it made a police report.
Appearing in court on Tuesday, Ye Lin was handed two charges — communicating a false message and obstructing the course of justice for deleting the AI images and app.
Information from the SG Courts website indicated that he appeared in Court 4A at 9.30am and was self-represented.
He also intends to plead guilty when his case is mentioned in court again on 10 Nov.
Source: SG Courts
In an earlier post, PUB urged the public to act responsibly and refrain from circulating false information or edited images that may cause public alarm, adding:
Such content can be mistaken as genuine, causing confusion and unnecessary concern, and come at a cost of public resources.
SPF warned that it would not hesitate to take action against anyone who communicates falsehoods.
For communicating a false message, Ye Lin faces up to three years in prison and/or a fine of up to S$10,000 if convicted.
Offenders found guilty of obstructing the course of justice may be jailed for up to seven years and/or fined.
Also read: 22-year-old NSF arrested over hoax bomb threat at Paya Lebar Air Base, investigations ongoing
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Featured image adapted from National Parks Board. Photo for illustration purposes only.