'Nasi ganja' chopper pilot to be charged on May 9

KUALA LUMPUR: The helicopter pilot who landed his aircraft at Padang Ipoh will be charged soon.

Bukit Aman CID director Comm Datuk Seri Abd Jalil Hasan said they have concluded investigations into the case.

"We have wrapped up investigations into the incident where a helicopter landed at Padang Ipoh without the approval of the Ipoh Municipal Councils Parks and Landscape Department to collect nasi ganja in July last year.

"The investigation paper was referred to the public prosecutor who ordered the suspect to be charged," he said in a statement on Sunday (May 1).

He said the suspect would be charged with failing to follow a flight plan under Rule 77(2) of the Commercial Flight Regulations 2016.

"The suspect will be charged at the Ipoh Magistrate’s Court on May 9 and could face a RM50,000 fine or maximum three years’ jail or both upon conviction," he said.

It was reported that the craving for nasi ganja made a customer from Kuala Lumpur go to great lengths, or rather heights, to get the popular fare from Ipoh via a helicopter.

Sinar Harian reported that a helicopter landed at Padang Ipoh on July 23, 2021 to pick up 36 packs of nasi ganja ordered by a customer from Kuala Lumpur.

A spokesman for the nasi ganja restaurant, who did not wish to be named, said the restaurant had received orders for 36 packets of rice with chicken, meat and salted eggs and was told the order would be collected using a helicopter.

The Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia (CAAM) had launched an investigation into the incident.

Initial investigations found that the helicopter departed at 9.08am from the Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport in Subang for Ipoh and had returned to Subang at 11.02am on that day.