Man held for fake bomb threat, assaulting crew on Singaopre Airlines flight

Singapore, Sep 28: A 37-year-old man was on Wednesday arrested for allegedly assaulting a cabin crew member of a Singapore Airlines flight and causing a fake bomb threat by claiming he had a explosive in his carry-on bag, a media report said.

The incident happened on early Wednesday when the police received an information that one of the passengers in the flight SQ33 carrying 209 people from San Francisco to Singapore is claiming to have been carrying bomb in his bag and has assaulted a cabin crew member, Channel News Asia reported.

The flight landed safely at Changi Airport at about 5.50 am under the escort of Republic of Singapore Air Force F-16C/D fighter jets. The police were also kept on standby. The man was restrained by the crew, and police subsequently arrested him for making false threats of terrorist acts and for suspected consumption of controlled drugs, the report quoted a senior police official as saying.

The accused, whose details won't be divulged until charges against him are framed in the court, has been currently kept in the police custody prior to initiating the legal procedure. In a statement the Singapore Airlines said the "unruly" passenger allegedly hit a cabin crew member.

Data from air traffic tracking website Flightradar24 showed that the plane circled before its descent towards Singapore. No delay in arrival was indicated, with a flight time of 16 hours and 25 minutes recorded.

Personnel from the Airport Police Division and the army’s Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Explosives Defence Group were on site to investigate the passenger's claims, the Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) said in a Facebook post. The bomb threat was subsequently verified to be false, MINDEF said.

All passengers and crew disembarked normally at 9.20am, the airline said. "Singapore Airlines apologises to all affected customers for the inconvenience caused by this incident.

We are assisting our customers with the rebooking for any onward connections that they may have missed," the airline said. "We are assisting the authorities with their investigations and regret that we are unable to provide further details," the airlines said.