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A Chinese traveller was escorted off a Malaysia Airlines flight after allegedly groping a flight attendant.<\/p>\n
The incident occurred on flight MH318, which was scheduled to depart Kuala Lumpur for Beijing on Tuesday (April 7), reported China Press.<\/p>\n
In a video on Chinese social media platform Weibo, the alleged molester is seen arguing with airport security staff and a flight attendant while seated on the plane.<\/p>\n
During the exchange, the man is heard saying that he only “lightly tapped” the attendant, and that he should not be barred from boarding the plane.<\/p>\n
“It’s not my problem,” he said, even adding that his actions would not be considered sexual harassment in Singapore.<\/p>\n
The female flight attendant can also be heard refuting his claims and saying that his actions were “very inappropriate”, which eventually led to security officers escorting him off the plane.<\/p>\n
According to flight passenger Ye Yuanyi (transliterated), the altercation likely happened during the boarding delay.<\/p>\n
Malaysia Airlines had changed the aircraft meant for the flight at the last minute, causing many passengers to be unable to scan their boarding passes at the gate.<\/p>\n
Some passengers’ seats were also changed, leading to them having to get new boarding passes printed.<\/p>\n
Ye said that the situation was chaotic, with ground staff working slowly and no crowd control.<\/p>\n
Many Chinese passengers also had trouble understanding the situation as there was no translation assistance available.<\/p>\n
Ye said that he had not witnessed the actual altercation between the passenger and the flight attendant, but that the situation might not have escalated had the delay been handled better.<\/p>\n
“I cannot say who was right and who was wrong. But what is certain is that this experience has left many Chinese passengers with a less than favourable impression of Malaysia,” he said.<\/p>\n
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