An Abu Dhabi criminal court has set precedence by extending its powers to air when it sentenced an Asian transit passenger to four months in jail on charges of molesting a hostess and endangering human lives aboard a national flight.
The defendant’s lawyer had tried to dismiss the case on the grounds the offence was committed in air outside the UAE territory but the court decided that the case was within its authorization since the offence was committed aboard a national airlines.
The passenger was en route from a European country to the UAE when started to cause trouble after he got drunk and had drugs.
The court was told by the cabin crew that the defendant grabbed a hostess by her shirt, molested her and screamed at other stewards before he seized the key to the emergency door in the aircraft. The court considered that such an act jeopardized the flight and the lives of the passengers on board.
While he admitted having drugs and alcohol, the defendant denied charges of molesting the hostess and claimed he could not remember what happened during flight.
The court sentenced the defendant to three months in jail on charges of molesting a stewardess and one month for endangering human lives and ordered his deportation after serving his jail terms. It did not rule on the drug charges on the grounds he could have had narcotics in the country of origin.