KUCHING: Bandar Kuching MP Dr Kelvin Yii has called on parents to advise their children not to mention bombs in security areas as public safety and security is a sensitive subject and of paramount importance at all times.
Yii when contacted by New Sarawak Tribune said a passenger’s joke about a bomb in his luggage at the Kuching International Airport on Tuesday afternoon caused a flight to be cancelled and the joker arrested.
The 28-year-old man who was flying to Kuala Lumpur was asked at the check-in counter what he had in his luggage and he jokingly replied that it was a bomb. The airport police were called and he was arrested.
Yii thanked the airport staff for their brave and prompt action as a joke or a prank on security is no joke at all as hundreds of lives could be at stake.
He said security of the people is no joking matter and called upon parents to remind their children that they risk being arrested even if they talk among themselves of bombs especially at airports and in airplanes.
Any threat, including those made in jest, he said, is a serious matter.
Kuching district police chief ACP Awang Din Awang Gani also said the joke was inappropriate especially when told to the airport staff.
The airport, said Awang Din, is a place of high security and the joke frightened the airport personnel.
He said the suspect was investigated under Section 506 of the Penal Code. If convicted he could be imprisoned for up to seven years or fined or both.
He is also investigated under Section 10 (3) of the Public Aviation Act that governs false information that intimidate passengers and endanger an aircraft.
Police investigations, he added, are ongoing and once completed will be referred to the Deputy Public Prosecutor for further action.
There had been several incidents of passengers arrested before at the Kuching International Airport because of jokes about bombs in their luggage.
A student was arrested in an aircraft a few years ago when he joked with a family member about hiding a bomb in his hand-carried luggage.
