07/19/2022

OKINAWA – In May of this year, an unemployed man was sent to prosecution on suspicion of violating the Misdemeanor Act for telling a flight attendant on board an airplane scheduled to take off from Sendai Airport that he had a bomb in his baggage, thereby delaying takeoff.

A 75-year-old unemployed man from Tome City, Miyagi Prefecture, was sent to prosecution on suspicion of violating the Misdemeanor Act.

According to the police, the man told a flight attendant, “There’s a bomb in my baggage,” when he handed his baggage to the attendant on board an airplane scheduled to take off from Sendai Airport shortly before noon on May 19 this year.

Although the aircraft was about to depart for Naha, the flight was forced to make a safety check, which delayed the departure by approximately 50 minutes, and is suspected of interfering with the airline’s operations.

It was later confirmed that the man was not carrying any explosives, and the aircraft departed for Naha without disembarking the man.

The man continued his trip to Okinawa, but the police determined that it was highly malicious. When the man returned from his trip, the police continued to question him on a voluntary basis.

The man said, “I said it as a joke. He said he was sorry and admitted the charge.”

News Source: TBS News