Drunk man uses vulgarities and shoves Scoot employee at Changi Airport, sentenced to jail and fine on 2 Sept
A drunk British man shoved a Scoot employee aside and tried to board a flight at Changi Airport, resulting in an anti-hijack button being pushed.
He pleaded guilty to three charges on 2 Sept and was given jail and a fine.
Accuses Scoot employee of being a racist
On the morning of 20 July, 25-year-old British national Arudchelvan Karnan consumed an entire 700ml bottle of Jack Daniel’s whiskey while at his Little India hotel.
Source: atlasstudio on Canva, for illustration purposes only
At 3.38pm that day, the drunk Arudchelvan began to shout loudly near Gate C17 in Changi Airport Terminal 1. Annoyed passengers then alerted a Scoot employee to the situation.
Arudchelvan proceeded to use vulgarities on her and even accused her of being a racist.
A decision was thus made not to let Arudchelvan board his flight to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. At around 4.05pm, all passengers but the accused had been allowed onto the plane.
Source: Kurt Finger on FlightAware, for illustration purposes only
At the boarding counter, a Scoot employee told him that he would not be allowed to board. She stood behind a connecting strip which she had extended across two bollards.
Changi Airport security closes anti-hijack door to block drunk British man
Arudchelvan subsequently crossed under the strip and shoved the employee over.
He then rushed to the aerobridge connecting to the plane.
Meanwhile, a nearby Changi Airport security officer pressed a button that closed an anti-hijack door. Arudchelvan was thus unable to board.
As he was being escorted away by an auxiliary police officer, he continued shouting vulgarities and abuse.
“I want England. Take me to England right now,” Arudchelvan reportedly demanded.
The police subsequently arrested him, while the flight was delayed by 53 minutes.
Tests had found him with 62mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood during the incident. He received five charges in court on 12 Aug.
Prosecution seeks up to 12 weeks in jail for offender
On 2 Sept, Arudchelvan pleaded guilty to one count each of causing annoyance while intoxicated in a public place, unauthorised entry to a protected place, and harassment.
The prosecution highlighted that the defendant caused a disturbance in the waiting area for more than 16 minutes.
They argued that he posed a safety threat to the passengers and staff.
As a result, the prosecution sought 10 to 12 weeks in jail and a fine between S$2,800 and S$3,500 for Arudchelvan.
On the other hand, the defence argued that there were no records of injuries or damage to property.
He thus sought just a fine as the sentence.
The judge ultimately sentenced Arudchelvan to eight weeks in jail and a S$2,800 fine.
Have news you must share? Get in touch with us via email at news@mustsharenews.com.
Featured image adapted from atlasstudio on Canva, for illustration purposes only, and MS News.
