Arudchelvan Karnan, 25, was sentenced on Sept. 2 as he pleaded guilty to one count each of harassment, causing annoyance while intoxicated in a public place and unauthorized entry to a protected place.
Karnan had flown into Singapore from Sydney on July 19 and spent the night in Little India. He drank an entire 700ml bottle of Jack Daniel’s whiskey at his hotel at about 9 a.m. the following morning before heading to Changi’s Terminal 1 for a flight to Kuala Lumpur, according to court documents cited by The Straits Times.
By 3:30 p.m., after clearing immigration and reaching Gate C17, where his Scoot flight TR472 was preparing to depart, he began shouting in the seating area near the aerobridge, and other passengers alerted a Scoot employee.
The employee approached him and he accused her of being racist and abused her with vulgarities, Deputy Public Prosecutor Darren Ang told the court, according to The Straits Times.
The airline then decided to off-board him.
By 4:05 p.m., every other passenger on the flight had passed the boarding counter. A second Scoot employee told Karnan he would not be allowed to board, extended a strip and stood behind it to block his path.
He ducked under the strip and headed for the aerobridge, shoving the woman and knocking her to the floor.
She alerted a nearby security officer, who pressed the anti-hijack button and requested assistance from the Airport Police Division.
The door closed before Karnan reached the plane, leaving another passenger who had not yet boarded stranded inside the aerobridge, Ang said, according to AsiaOne.
An auxiliary police officer escorted him away as he launched into an expletive-laden tirade against Singapore and Malaysia. “I want England. Take me to England right now,” he said.
He was arrested soon after, and the Health Sciences Authority found 62mg of ethanol per 100ml in his blood specimen.
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People pass the control tower of Singapore’s Changi Airport, Jan. 18, 2021. Photo by Reuters |
Police said in a statement in August, reported by Mothershipthat the employee who tried to stop him fell and suffered injuries to her left arm and wrist. That statement put the flight delay at 45 minutes.
Causing annoyance while intoxicated in a public place in Singapore carries a fine of up to S$1,000, up to six months in jail, or both.
Unauthorized entry to a protected place carries a fine of up to S$20,000, up to two years in jail, or both.
Police said the safe operation of security and boarding at a hub the size of Changi depends on passengers complying with lawful directions from airport authorities, and that they would not hesitate to act against travelers who compromise the safety of others.