Australian tourist jailed for threatening to crash flight at Changi airport
Share:
Man repeatedly threatened to crash flight after being denied entry to Southeast Asian nations. An Australian tourist was sentenced to eight weeks in prison for threatening to crash his flight while waiting to board it at the Changi airport in Singapore.
Moncrieff Marli Curtis Philip, 36, on Wednesday pleaded guilty to one charge of using threatening words to cause alarm last November. He reportedly had to abort his holiday plans in Phuket, Thailand, after being denied entry by Thai immigration authorities because a visa page in his passport was torn out.
The court was told the tourist had been planning the trip for a while and it had cost him a lot of money. He was put on a flight to Singapore, where he was also denied entry for the same visa issue. At Changi, immigration officials helped Mr Curtis Philip retrieve prescription medication for anxiety and depression from his check-in luggage. He was then taken to a holding room to wait for a flight back to Perth, the Malay Mail reported.
On 20 November, while being escorted to board a Jetstar flight to Australia, he remarked: "I want the aircraft to crash and kill everyone.". He was reported to authorities after a flight attendant overheard his remark. The tourist was removed from the flight and airport authorities searched his luggage.
They did not find anything suspicious, however, and informed the tourist that he would have to wait for another flight back to Australia. While talking to his girlfriend, Mr Curtis Philip reportedly again threatened to crash the plane if he were put on another flight.
