A Papua New Guinea national was arrested for cracking a bomb joke to fellow airline passengers at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport, ABS-CBN News reported Friday.
Thomas Kugam, 29-years old was told to get off the Air Niugini Airline by the airplane’s pilot when he cracked a bomb joke to his fellow passengers last May 23. Kugam was en route to Papua New Guinea from Hong Kong via Manila.
Reports said that members of the Papua New Guinea embassy even tried to smuggle Kugam out of the airport.
Airport security immediately responded to a call made by immigrations about the attempt to take a foreigner who was barred from boarding a plane out of Manila.
Authorities stopped a maroon van bearing a diplomatic plate (55551) with foreigners inside at the arrival area of the terminal.
A commotion ensued when embassy agents reportedly resisted airport security personnel who were about to take Kugam back to immigration.
Immigration officials explained that Kugam was not allowed to enter the country because he was just a transit passenger. He was only ordered out of the plane when he made a false bomb threat.
Kugam thought that he could leave for his country after paying bailbond worth P20,000 bail.
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Its sad but true but you are not even allowed now to crack a joke about anything when in an airport, people have become over zealous to say the least about airport security, Sept 11 was a wake up to a big sleeping giant but surely the rest of the world does not have to be so paranoid, I know terrorist know no boundaries but sometime a joke for entertainment while waiting for a flight could be taken as just that. Perhaps our friend can learn from this and wait till he lands safely back at jacksons before cracking a joke ,,,,,,,, actually no tell him to wait till he is far from any airport before such jokes LOL
CHEERS
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The national is a PhD student in Beijing, China. Being an educated man I know that in hindsight he regrets making that joke. However, due to the over reaction of the Air Niugini flight attendants on board he was arrested and thus detained.
The over zealousness of the Filipinos is defintely due to the fact that in that country they have Muslim sepratist groups that probably have links to al-Quaeda. I hope he was not detained for long because a simple background would have sufficed to see that it was a harmless joke.
I guess it is testament to the fact that Papua New Guineans for the most part have not really faced the grim reality of terrorism that looms over the conciousness of a good percentage of the citizens of earth.
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Most number of PNGeans are not aware of terrorism whilst the others are oblivious. It sometimes gets very stressing going through customs clearence and imigration, thats how bad it has become.
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Ah Kolwan,
my favourite Philosopher (Voltaire) covered that. I seem to quote him ad infinitum, and probably to my detractors, ad nauseum.
Anyway, he said. "The passing of laws that impede the freedom of the aveage citizen, to curb the actions of one madman, will never succeed." In the wake of 9/11, the western world has become paranoid. I find Voltaire's writngs to be very modern. (He died on the eve of the French Revolution) But then, I suppose the "TRUTH" is always modern.
Our perception of things, is merely our perception of them, and has no relation to the reality of the object we are perceiving. (Nietzche) Therefore, to say 2+2 = 4 is not a paradox, but to say that 2+2 = 5 is not a paradox either. I hope you are not a mathematician. That will give you nightmares. Being an Engineer, Nietzche caused me years of grief, before I accepted his logic.
Pleasant dreams......Ralph.
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Quite astounding indeed, a poor mans wage conflict through terrorism while rich man via scud missiles. Certainly we wonder had Voltaire lived during the French revolution, would foundation for democracy be influenced?
Jokes are meant to bend the reality, the curvature in the continuum of time and space, a flinting moments of laughter to dance with the soul, how strange is it now that jokes are taken to be reality. It must be a world of tall tales, so must be 1+1=0…as its goes…life was meant to be funny and hence the joke has become life threatening…lol
Stap wantaim u
kolwan
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Actually kolwan,
the Yanks tap the phone lines for suspicious calls.
As they cannot tap snd analyse every call, they use voice-recognition software to pick up on key words. So If you are waiting on the line, on a call to the USA, you can drive the Yanks mad. While you are on the line sing the opening bars of Carmen. You know. "Bomb bomb badom bomb, bomb badom badom," and so on. That should send them crazy.
With all the hysteria at Airports at present, I get an almost overpowering urge at times. That is; to get a Tee-shirt printed with the following. "I am a bomb disposal expert. If you see me running, PANIC." And then sprint through airport lounges. The thought of spending the rest of my life incarcerated, is all that deters me. So every time I feel that urge, I go and lie down somewhere quiet, until it passes.
Life was definitely meant to be funny......Ralph.
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