Anyone who’s missed a flight will know the feeling of extreme frustration that sets in after you realize all the trouble you’ll have to go through to get on another one. This guy, however, took his rage to another level by creating a commotion at Changi Airport and using criminal force on two policemen who approached him.
The drunk traveler was a New Zealander who had missed his flight to Bangkok while on transit here, according to The Straits Times. Chef Scott Bradley Hannan admitted to seizing the collar of Senior Staff Sergeant Tan Ah Han at 8:08am on Aug 16 this year at the departure transit area of Terminal 2, with the intension of stopping him from discharging his duty.
On Wednesday (Aug 23), the 37-year-old was sentenced to three weeks in jail.
Police investigations revealed that Hannan had arrived from Australia and was waiting in the transit area for his flight to Thailand to start boarding. While waiting, he consumed about eight pints of beer and took a nap. So yes, this is totally on him.
Unfortunately, by the time he woke up, his plane had left without him. So Hannan headed to the transfer counter and started to get agitated when informed that he had to purchase another flight ticket. He created a ruckus, yelling vulgarities, throwing his bag and kicking items.
By the time Senior Staff Sgt Tan and his partner arrived at the scene, Hannan was off at the smoking room drinking more beer. Drunk and uncooperative, he refused to settle on a civil resolution of the issue, even though the policemen attempted to take him back to the transfer counter to help him.
As Hannan became more aggressive, he abruptly grabbed hold of Senior Staff Sgt Tan’s collar with his right hand, causing the officer’s epaulette to fall. The two policemen told Hannan to calm down, but he charged towards them and struggled violently before they used force to arrest him.
Hannan’s lawyer Gino Hardial Singh said that his client had been rushing from Perth to Bangkok to see his young son, who had been hospitalized for pneumonia. Both his son and his wife-to-be reside in Khon Kaen, Thailand.
“The combination of alcohol, anxiety and stress due to his son’s hospitalization, sleep deprivation and the shock of him missing his flight led to Scott behaving completely out of character,” Singh explained, going on to add that Hannan expressed regret for his “foolish” actions.
Hannan’s sentence was backdated to Aug 17. For using criminal force on a public servant, he could have been jailed for up to four years and/or fined.
