Posted on: September 23, 2025, 02:59h.
Last updated on: September 23, 2025, 02:59h.
- Casino losses drove man to send cruise ship bomb threat
- Threat email disrupted 4,000 passengers boarding next voyage
- Man faces up to seven years prison or heavy fine
A Singapore man who lost around S$2,000 (US$) gambling on a Resorts World casino cruise ship later sent bomb threats to the operator in an attempt to get his money back.
Neo Hui Ghim, 41, pleaded guilty to one count of communicating false information about a harmful situation. He was initially scheduled to be sentenced on Sept 22, but the date has been moved to October 27 when he could be handed a prison term of up to seven years, a $50,000 fine, or both, The Straits Times reports.
Quick Arrest
In October 2023, Neo and his parents took a Resorts World Cruises (RWC) ship from Singapore to Malaysia and back, according to prosecutors. Neo had wanted to watch a concert on the ship, but tickets were sold out. Instead, he went the casino to gamble where he lost the money over the course of several visits, according to court documents.
On October 13, just hours after the cruise ended, Neo sent an email to Resorts World Cruises’ customer service department titled “Bomb at Resorts World Cruises.”
“Please return me back my monies else the ship will explode, and everyone dropped into the sea,” read the email.
Neo was quickly identified as the perpetrator because – somewhat unwisely – he used the same address to send it as he had to book the cruise.
He was arrested within three hours of making the threat, but not before his actions caused disruption to around 4,000 vacationers who were preparing to board the next ship.
“In response to the threat, the police, together with the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority and security officers from the cruise center, conducted extensive checks on the ship. No threat items were found on board the vessel,” police said at the time.
Desperate Acts
Neo is not the only individual who has resorted to extreme measures to avoid paying a gambling debt on a casino cruise ship.
Earlier this month, Jey Gonzalez-Diaz, a Royal Caribbean cruise passenger jumped overboard in a desperate bid to avoid paying the US$16,000 he lost in the onboard casino.
Gonzalez-Diaz was fished out of the water by a passing jet-skier in the Port of San Juan, Puerto Rico, and taken ashore. He is currently in federal custody.
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