On 2 April 2017, an unattended bag caused a temporary shutdown of the station. At 2.55pm, SBS Transit announced that all trains will skip Hougang station due to a "security incident". Police subsequently confirmed the contents of the unattended bag were "non-dangerous". Train services resumed at 4.03pm after police gave the all-clear. A 39-year-old man was arrested for causing public nuisance after preliminary investigations show he intentionally left the bag inside the station while running an errand. The man, construction worker Wang Jianpo, was later fined S$1000 on 9 June for “causing annoyance to the public”. Deputy public prosecutor Daphne Lim said that his “grossly inconsiderate and thoughtless” act of leaving the blue suitcase unattended at the station platform while he ran an errand affected more than 4,000 commuters including 663 who were evacuated from the station.