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Man loses suit over his use of cellphone in flight

A passenger who was detained for five days and fined 200 yuan (US$32) for using his cellphone when the plane was taking off lost his suit against the Pudong airport police, a Shanghai court said this morning.

The plaintiff surnamed Yao fought with a passenger sitting next to him as the latter tried to persuade him to turn off his cellphone because their plane was taxing in an airport in southwestern Yunnan Province on April 15 last year.

The two men were stopped by aircrews and handed over to the Pudong airport police after the plane landed in Shanghai, the Pudong District People's Court heard.

Police said Yao was using his cellphone to take photos and refused to turn off the phone despite another passenger's persuasion. Police tried to mediate their dispute and suggested that Yao pay another man 400 yuan in compensation, but Yao refused and was thus punished with a five-day detention plus a 200 yuan fine. The other man was also fined 200 yuan.

Yao thought the punishment was too severe and brought the airport police to court.

"I was attacked first and my action was self-defense," Yao said in the court. He also argued he had taken out the SIM card and put the device into flight mode, therefore the cellphone would do no harm to the flight.

The court said Yao had violated the rules on the plane since the flight mode is not yet approved in China. "The punishment by the airport police was legal and reasonable," the court ruled.



 

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