British man allegedly tried to force his way into Changi Airport aerobridge after being offloaded
A British man has been slapped with multiple charges after turning up drunk at a boarding gate in Changi Airport and allegedly hurling vulgarities at staff.
He also allegedly caused hurt to a staff member by his aggressive actions, said the Singapore Police Force (SPF) in a news release on Tuesday (11 Aug).
Drunk British man annoys people at Changi Airport boarding gate
The 25-year-old British national was identified by court documents as Arudchelvan Karnan, reported The Straits Times (ST).
At 3.45pm on 20 July, he appeared drunk at Gate C17 of Changi Airport Terminal 1, for a Scoot flight to Kuala Lumpur.
He also talked and shouted loudly, causing annoyance to other passengers, SPF said.
British man allegedly used vulgarities on staff
At 3.50pm, Arudchelvan reacted angrily after being approached by two airline staff.
He allegedly used vulgarities on one of them, a woman, and accused her of being racist.
The airline thus decided to offload him from the flight for being intoxicated.
Source: Google Maps
British man allegedly charged onto aerobridge, hurting staff
Arudchelvan was informed that he was to be offloaded from the flight, which caused him to behave aggressively.
He allegedly charged onto the aerobridge to try to board the plane, pushing past airline staff.
This caused the female staff member who tried to stop him to fall to the floor and suffer injuries to her left arm and wrist.
His actions were tantamount to entering a protected area of the airport without authorisation, said SPF, which received a call regarding a passenger causing a nuisance at 4.05pm.
British man continues behaving aggressively
Arudchelvan continued behaving aggressively after that, uttering vulgarities at airport security staff who tried to calm him down.
Some of the vulgarities mentioned Singapore and Malaysia, according to ST.
The incident resulted in the flight departing 45 minutes late.
Man receives 5 charges, out on bail
On Wednesday (12 Aug), Arudchelvan received five charges, including:
- Causing annoyance while intoxicated in a public place under the Liquor Control (Supply and Consumption) Act. Offenders may be jailed for up to six months and/or fined up to S$1,000.
- Unauthorised entry to a protected place under the Infrastructure Protection Act 2017. If convicted, he faces a jail term of up to two years and/or a fine of up to S$20,000.
- Using threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour under the Protection from Harassment Act 2014, which carries a fine of up to S$5,000.
- Causing hurt under the Penal Code 1871. Those found guilty may be jailed and/or fined.
He asked for a lawyer, and is now out on bail of S$1,000.
His passport has been impounded, with his case set to be heard again on 19 Aug.
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Featured image adapted from Google Maps and MS News.
