When sitting in a plane, one of the worst things that can happen is for someone to make a bomb threat.
Unfortunately for passengers of a Scoot flight to Perth, this happened on their flight, causing it to turn back to Singapore.
While the bomb threat was false, the male passenger who made it has been jailed for six months.
Source: 9 News Australia on YouTube
His actions were reportedly triggered by a relapse of schizophrenia.
Kevin Francis Hawkins, a 30-year-old Australian, was on Scoot flight TR16 from Singapore to Perth on 12 Oct, Channel NewsAsia (CNA) reported.
He and his wife were travelling from Phuket and transiting in Singapore.
The flight took off at about 4.10pm with 11 crew members and 363 passengers.
Just after the seatbelt sign had been switched off, Hawkins got up and told a male cabin crew,
I have a bomb.
He then returned to his seat even though the cabin crew asked him to repeat himself.
He repeated his claim to the cabin crew when he asked him to clarify, adding in an exploding gesture with his hands.
When the chief of cabin crew approached him and again asked him to clarify himself, he made the same assertion again, pointing to his trouser pocket.
However, he pulled out a nasal inhaler.
His wife then told the cabin crew that he had mental problems.
Nevertheless, the pilot was informed, and he told the control centre that the plane would be turning back.
At this point, the plane was above the South China Sea.
Source: Flightradar24
The Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) promptly activated their aircraft to escort the plane in question back to Changi Airport.
Upon landing, the respective authorities conducted security checks on the aircraft.
Hawkins and his wife, as well as their luggage and belongings, were checked and nothing untoward was found.
He was led out of the plane and arrested at about 9.10pm.
Source: 9 News Australia on YouTube
The rest of the passengers and the crew members deplaned, then reboarded the plane at about 10.45pm.
They departed for Perth again at about 11.40pm after about seven hours’ delay.
Hawkins was eventually charged with making a false bomb threat on board a flight — an offence under the United Nations (Anti-Terrorism Measures) Regulations.
He pleaded guilty, and was sentenced to six months’ jail on Friday (22 Dec).
Appearing in court via video link, he seemed scrawny and unshaven.
As for the reasons behind his actions, the court heard that Hawkins suffered from schizophrenia.
He was previously hospitalised for this reason in 2019.
During the flight, he had suffered a relapse, coupled with an episode of major depressive disorder.
However, the judge ruled that he knew what he was doing at the time.
In fact, he wanted to be arrested and put in a mental hospital after landing in Perth to escape his problems.
However, he didn’t know he would cause the plane to turn back and cause inconvenience to others.
The fact that this happened was “expensive and wasteful”, the judge said, and caused considerable disruptions to innocent people.
As the RSAF, airport and police staff also had to be mobilised, this was “a severe drain on public resources”, the judge added.
Thus, he agreed with the prosecutor, who had asked for a maximum of six months’ jail for Hawkins.
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Featured image adapted from 9 News Australia on YouTube and Scoot on Facebook. Photo on right For illustration purposes only.
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