SINGAPORE: A British national who was offloaded from his flight to London earlier this month when he caused a commotion after thinking his cell phone was missing was fined $5,000 on Thursday (March 20).
Fifty-seven-year-old Richard Michael Roll Burridge, who had yelled at a female airline staff member and destroyed a wall panel at a Changi Airport aerobridge, pleaded guilty to one count of harassment and one count of mischief.
On March 7, shortly before midnight, Burridge was already on the plane when he discovered that his phone was missing, CNA reported, citing court documents.
Other passengers then were still boarding the aircraft.
Using another phone, Burridge called his wife, who tracked the phone to a departure transit lounge via an app.
Burridge told a crew member on the plane about his missing phone as well as the location the app showed it to be. This crew member then called the airline staff member Burridge later shouted at, asking that she assist with locating the phone. She, in turn, called a colleague who was at the lounge. However, the phone was nowhere to be found.
Burridge left the plane at 11.43 pm to talk to the airline staff member who had made the call to the lounge, asking her if he could search for the phone himself. She told him that the phone could not be found in the lounge, and added that if he went there, he would be offloaded from the flight because the boarding gate would soon be closing.
This caused Burridge to grow angry, and he shouted at the woman who, CNA said, was a traffic liaison officer assigned to a gate hold room at Changi Airport Terminal 3 that night. The report also said that the officer “felt scared and insulted” by his behaviour.
As they returned to the plane, the officer asked if he wanted to board the flight or continue searching for his phone. This angered Burridge again, and he kicked a wall panel on the aerobridge, causing $1,622.51 in damages.
Airport staff then alerted the police. Meanwhile, Burridge finally found his phone—under his seat.
Despite this, he was escorted off the plane by police for questioning. Fortunately, the flight was still able to depart on time.
Burridge has since paid his fine in full. /TISG
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