Legislators seek severe punishment for hoaxes
Print Edition
National legislators from Shanghai are calling for hoax callers who disrupt flights to be given severe punishments to deter copycats.
They should face prison terms of at least 10 years and fines related to the losses suffered by airlines and passengers, said Ma Xulun, general manager of Shanghai-based China Eastern Airlines and a national legislator.
China Eastern, China Southern and Air China received more than 80 hoax bomb calls last year, resulting in great losses, Ma said on the sidelines of a meeting ahead of today’s opening of the National People’s Congress in Beijing.
Aircraft were diverted while all passengers had to undergo security checks again, he said.
But all calls turned out to be false.
Callers later said they had made the threats to delay takeoffs for various reasons or in protest at delays or poor service. Most were detained for just 15 days and fined small amounts, Ma said.
The heaviest punishment meted out was five years for a caller whose bomb threats disrupted five flights bound for Shenzhen in May last year.
Wang Junjin, president of Shanghai’s Juneyao Airlines, supported Ma’s proposal.
Hoax callers face up to five years in jail but the term can be extended in the case of injuries and there is a maximum 15 years for callers who pose a serious risk to air safety.
In the US and Australia, callers who disrupt flights face up to 20 years in prison and fines up to US$70,000, Ma said.
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