A tourist from Tianjin was jailed for five days and fined 7,000 Ringgit (16,130 Yuan) in Malaysia after making a joke about a bomb on a November 30th Kuala Lumpur-Beijing flight.
Zheng Hao, 38, joked to the stewardess that his carry-on bag was heavy because there was a bomb in it. This caused flight staff to panic, and Zheng was arrested, according to the South China Morning Post.
The Malaysian crew immediately called the police, who arrested Zheng. A bomb squad searched Zheng’s luggage and did not find any explosives, but Zheng was taken to the police station for investigation.
On December 3, Zheng was charged with a criminal offensive by a Sepang, Selangor court.
His lawyer argued that the situation was a misunderstanding and that Zheng was just making a joke. The prosecution said that Zheng’s behavior caused a panic and resulted in a flight delay, and that therefore he should be punished.
The court ruled that Zheng be fined 7,000 Ringgit and imprisoned for five days or five months in prison if the fine could not be paid.
