[Iclickart]
A 56-year-old South Korean man will be punished for causing a disturbance under the influence of alcohol during an international flight from China, police said.
Police said the man, identified by his surname Kim, was accused of acting violently and shouting at flight attendants during a flight from Beijing to the southern city of Kimhae on Monday.
He allegedly assaulted a male attendant, swearing and shaking him by the collar after the plane landed, police said, adding Kim was drunk before he boarded the plane. Kim argued he had a tantrum after flight attendants refused to provide beverages, but the plane's crew insisted all drinks were served except for those who fell asleep.
"The mayhem was simply caused by his drunkenness," a police official in Kimhae told reporters, adding Kim may face a fine of up to 10 million won (8,652 US dollars).
In-flight mayhems caused by drunken passengers was spotlighted as a social issue in December last year when a 34-year-old man was suppressed by attendants and other passengers in a flight from Vietnam to South Korea. American rock star Richard Marx played a role in suppressing the drunkard. Video clips and images uploaded onto Instagram by Marx's wife became a hot online topic.
The incident prompted South Korean airline companies to ease regulations on the use of stun guns against unruly passengers, though there has been no reported case yet.
Disruptive air passengers face a maximum prison term of five years under a revised aviation law prompted by the infamous "nut rage" case involving Cho Hyun-ah, the daughter of Korean Air's founding family, in late 2014. The fine for drunken passengers doubled to 10 million won.
Cho said she had become enraged after a flight attendant served her some nuts in a bag instead of a dish, and insisted the plane return to the gate so he could be removed from the flight. Her actions invited overseas ridicule and domestic embarrassment.
Park Sae-jin = swatchsjp@ajunews.com
reporter
Park Sae-jin
swatchsjp@ajunews.com
