UAE | Crime
Briton confesses to joking about bomb on aircraft
A Briton has confessed to the Dubai Court of First Instance that he was intoxicated when he triggered a bomb scare on an Emirates flight as a joke.
- By Bassam Za'za', Senior Reporter
- Published: 16:38 September 10, 2008
Dubai A Briton has confessed that he was intoxicated when he triggered a bomb scare on an Emirates flight as a joke.
The 37-year-old British suspect, admitted before the Dubai Court of First Instance, said that he was joking when he claimed that he carried a bomb which would explode in seven minutes on a flight from Manchester to Dubai.
"I said there is a bomb, but it was just a joke ... I didn't mean it," said the suspect, M.W., who also pleaded guilty to consuming liquor during the incident.
Excuse
He told Presiding Judge Fahmi Mounir that he develops anxiety and when he consumes liquor he suffers from constant worry.
The Public Prosecution charged him with terrorising passengers and endangering the aircraft's safety while it was flying between Manchester and Dubai after he claimed that he would blow up the plane within seven minutes.
Salim Mohammad Al Qaidi, senior public prosecutor who questioned the alleged prankster, charged the Briton with beating and injuring two Chinese nationals, Y.Y. and O.J., and consuming liquor.
When he was confronted with the assault charges, M.W. dismissed those accusations and pleaded not guilty. He told the judge that the two Chinese were the ones who assaulted him and he defended himself.
The suspect, who appeared in court without a legal representative said he couldn't obtain the medical reports that confirm that he suffers from anxiety and gets worried when he drinks.
A 32-year-old Lebanese stewardess testified in her statement: "Two minutes prior to landing, the Chin-ese passenger, Y.Y., came up to me and she was afraid and panicking. She told me in a trembling voice that the suspect told her that there is a bomb, which will explode in seven minutes on the plane. I headed towards him and noticed that he was holding two mobile phones in his hands and pretended to be pressing the buttons."
The witness claimed that one of the passengers told her not to worry because the suspect was joking.
O.J. stated that he saw the suspect pressing on the cellphones in his hands and saying 'a bomb will explode'. Y.Y. confirmed his statement.
Charge
"M.W.'s crime is a breach of Federal Law No 20 of 1991, regarding Civil Aviation. He confused passengers and falsely alarmed the Chinese victims that he has a bomb which will explode," Al Qaidi said earlier.
Al Qaidi said M.W. tested positive for two kinds of drugs and banned substances "but he has not been charged with consuming drugs because our investigation showed that he took drugs beyond Dubai's jurisdiction".
A verdict on the case will be delivered next week.
M.W.'s crime is a breach of Federal Law No 20 of 1991, regarding Civil Aviation. He confused passengers and falsely alarmed the Chinese victims."
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