A CHINESE tourist was fined RM5,000 by the Tawau Magistrate's Court today after pleading guilty to sending a false bomb threat via e-mail to an airline’s headquarters in Kuala Lumpur, last Saturday.
Magistrate Dayang Aidaku Amira Aminuddin handed down the sentence after the accused, Liu Jinqi, 28, pleaded guilty to the charge under Section 506 of the Penal Code.
According to the charge read out in Mandarin, the woman from Beijing was charged with committing the offence of criminal intimidation against the airline by making a threatening statement - 'human service emergency bomb dangerous' through the self-service application offered by the airline.
The threat was then read by an employee of the airline involved at her residence in Tawau, at 11.55am on September 20, before a report was made at the Tawau District Police Headquarters, on the same day.
In mitigation, lawyer Chen Wen Jye, who represented the accused, requested a lighter sentence on the grounds that the client regretted her actions and did not realise how serious the consequences of the action were before sending the message.
"My client intends to plead guilty thus saving the court time.
"She has been remanded with her husband since September 22, and throughout that period they have provided good cooperation to the police and the accused's husband was released last night and the couple intends to return home after today's proceedings," said Chen.
However, Prosecuting Officer Assistant Superintendent Jeffrey Kadisun stressed that public interest in this case is very high given that the offence committed by the accused has the potential to cause panic and public annoyance as well as endanger lives in the event of a real emergency.
"Although the threat was untrue, it was still a serious offence and a proportionate punishment should be imposed as a lesson, not only to the accused but also to the community so that they do not repeat the act," he stressed.
After considering the mitigation appeal and the prosecution's arguments, the court also ordered the accused to be jailed for three months if she failed to pay the fine.
The accused, however, paid the fine.
It was previously reported that the couple allegedly committed the offence after they were believed to be dissatisfied with the issue of changing seats on a flight scheduled to depart from Tawau Airport to Kuala Lumpur. - September 25, 2025
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