Police have warned of tough legal action against a man from Uttaradit who violated a new aviation law by allegedly joking about having a bomb in his luggage while on board a flight.
Pichit Boondaeng, 23, was brought to a police press briefing yesterday after he became the first offender to be charged with violating the Certain Aviation Offences Act, effective since February this year.
Mr Pichit was arrested by police on Sunday at Don Mueang airport after telling a Thai Lion Air flight attendant -- on flight SL 8536 to Hat Yai in Songkhla -- that he had a bomb in his carry-on bag.
The attendant was helping Mr Pichit put the bag in the overhead compartment before take-off when he said, "Please take good care of the bag. There's a bomb in it."
Mr Pichit, an employee of the State Railway of Thailand (SRT) who was travelling to Hat Yai to attend a friend's wedding, said it was the first time he had ever been on a plane.
The joke forced the captain to suspend the flight. Bags in the cargo hold were also searched for explosives. No bomb was found.
The airline said its legal division would sue Mr Pichit for damages. The hoax resulted in an estimated loss of hundreds of thousands of baht because the flight delay incurred fines, including an additional aircraft parking fee.
Mr Pichit apologised and said the joke was a slip-up as he was trying to hit on the flight attendant and had no idea he would get into trouble for it.
Pol Lt Gen Sanit Mahathaworn, acting commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Bureau, said Mr Pichit has been charged with verbalising false information causing panic. He is liable for a jail term of up to five years and/or a fine up to 200,000 baht. A harsher punishment would have been handed out if the plane had already been airborne, with up to 15 years in jail and a maximum 500,000-baht fine.
Deputy national police chief Pongsapat Pongcharoen said Mr Pichit has now been released on bail. SRT governor Wutthichart Kalayanamitr also said an inquiry would probe Mr Pichit for possible disciplinary action, even though he was on holiday when he committed the offence.