SINGAPORE : Two students were charged in court on Monday with setting off an improvised explosive device using sparklers.

Wesley Meow Guang Siang and Muhammad Firdaus Mahaf, both 17, were the first persons to be charged with such an offence.

The court heard that the boys had set off an explosion at about 1pm on 27 August last year in an open field along Woodgrove Avenue off Woodlands Avenue 1.

Two metal pipes and the remains of sparklers were found at the scene.

Following investigations, the two teenagers were arrested the next day.

Materials used in making the explosive, like sparkler sticks, were seized from their homes.

In a separate incident on 17 December last year, two youths, aged 15 and 16, were believed to have set off a bundle of 72 sparklers that were taped together at block 339, Woodlands Avenue 1.

They are currently helping the police in their investigations.

Police said 32 cases of explosive-related incidents involving sparkler sticks and powder have been reported.

They said they take a serious view of such actions in view of the current security climate, and remind the public that it is an offence to use sparklers to make an explosive device.

Anyone caught doing this may be prosecuted in court and, if found guilty, faces a maximum jail term of six months or S$1,000 fine or both.