SINGAPORE: A 25-year-old British man caused a 45-minute delay at a boarding gate of Changi Airport Terminal 1 after allegedly pushing airport staff and entering a protected area.
In a statement on Tuesday (Aug 11), the police said they received a call on July 20 around 4.05pm about a passenger causing a nuisance at a boarding gate in T1.
Investigations found that the man, who was believed to be intoxicated, talked and shouted loudly while at the boarding gate for a flight to Kuala Lumpur, annoying other passengers.
When he was approached by two airline staff, he reacted angrily and used vulgarities on one of them, the police said in their statement. He was then offloaded from the flight for being intoxicated.
After being informed of the airline’s decision, the man allegedly became aggressive and pushed past airline staff to attempt to board the plane. In doing so, he entered a protected area of the airport without authorisation. One staff member fell to the floor and suffered injuries to her left arm and wrist.
He continued behaving aggressively and uttering vulgarities at airport security staff, causing a 45-minute delay to the flight’s departure.
The man is expected to be charged in court on Aug 12 with causing annoyance while intoxicated in a public place; using threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour; and unauthorised entry to a protected place.
If convicted of causing annoyance while intoxicated in a public place, he may be fined up to S$1,000, jailed for up to six months, or both.
For using threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour, he may be fined up to $5,000.
He may also be fined up to $20,000, jailed for up to two years, or both if found guilty of unauthorised entry to a protected place. - The Straits Times/ANN
