DUBAI // A passenger who was sentenced to a year in prison after he slapped a flight attendant and insulted her when she tried to stop him from making a drunken scene on a FlyDubai flight has had his sentence suspended.
Egyptian marine officer MM, 40, was convicted of assaulting the Moroccan flight attendant SA, 26, and causing a half-hour-long disturbance on a flight from Dubai to Alexandria, Egypt, but the Dubai Court of Appeal ruled that his sentence will now be suspended for three years.
He was also convicted of insulting other flydubai employees and possessing and consuming alcohol.
Records show that 15 minutes after the plane took off, on November 26 last year, the defendant requested ice to consume with alcohol he had brought on board.
The attendant explained to him that he was not allowed to consume the alcohol because he had bought it from duty free.
The defendant started shouting and insulting the crew, and when they tried to calm him and explain that he was breaking the rules, he ignored them.
“A female passenger who was seated next to him wrote a note asking to have her seat changed because she was frightened of his behaviour but he stopped her from changing her seat,” the Moroccan flight attendant said.
She then informed the captain of the situation, who told her to try to calm the man down and convince him to hand over the alcohol. But the defendant refused and instead insulted SA.
“He then pushed me to get to the toilet and, when he got out, he slapped me,” she said, adding that the crew had no choice but to confine the defendant to his seat while the plane made an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia. MM was detained and sent back to Dubai.
Egyptian flight attendant AM, 26, testified that he heard the passenger insult other passengers and crew members in Arabic.
“He was using bad words, saying that he cared about no one and that everyone is under his shoes,” AM said. “I helped restrain him to his seat.”
tzrikat@thenational.ae
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Jawan
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Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989
Director: Goran Hugo Olsson
Rating: 5/5
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If you go
The flights
Emirates and Etihad fly direct to Nairobi, with fares starting from Dh1,695. The resort can be reached from Nairobi via a 35-minute flight from Wilson Airport or Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, or by road, which takes at least three hours.
The rooms
Rooms at Fairmont Mount Kenya range from Dh1,870 per night for a deluxe room to Dh11,000 per night for the William Holden Cottage.
It’ll be summer in the city as car show tries to move with the times
If 2008 was the year that rocked Detroit, 2019 will be when Motor City gives its annual car extravaganza a revamp that aims to move with the times.
A major change is that this week's North American International Auto Show will be the last to be held in January, after which the event will switch to June.
The new date, organisers said, will allow exhibitors to move vehicles and activities outside the Cobo Center's halls and into other city venues, unencumbered by cold January weather, exemplified this week by snow and ice.
In a market in which trends can easily be outpaced beyond one event, the need to do so was probably exacerbated by the decision of Germany's big three carmakers – BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Audi – to skip the auto show this year.
The show has long allowed car enthusiasts to sit behind the wheel of the latest models at the start of the calendar year but a more fluid car market in an online world has made sales less seasonal.
Similarly, everyday technology seems to be catching up on those whose job it is to get behind microphones and try and tempt the visiting public into making a purchase.
Although sparkly announcers clasp iPads and outline the technical gadgetry hidden beneath bonnets, people's obsession with their own smartphones often appeared to offer a more tempting distraction.
“It's maddening,” said one such worker at Nissan's stand.
The absence of some pizzazz, as well as top marques, was also noted by patrons.
“It looks like there are a few less cars this year,” one annual attendee said of this year's exhibitors.
“I can't help but think it's easier to stay at home than to brave the snow and come here.”
Greatest of All Time
Starring: Vijay, Sneha, Prashanth, Prabhu Deva, Mohan
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The Perfect Couple
Starring: Nicole Kidman, Liev Schreiber, Jack Reynor
Creator: Jenna Lamia
Rating: 3/5
THE SPECS
Engine: 1.5-litre turbocharged four-cylinder
Transmission: Constant Variable (CVT)
Power: 141bhp
Torque: 250Nm
Price: Dh64,500
On sale: Now
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Fitness problems in men's tennis
Andy Murray - hip
Novak Djokovic - elbow
Roger Federer - back
Stan Wawrinka - knee
Kei Nishikori - wrist
Marin Cilic - adductor
TOUR RESULTS AND FIXTURES
June 3: NZ Provincial Barbarians 7 Lions 13
June 7: Blues 22 Lions 16
June 10: Crusaders 3 Lions 12
June 13: Highlanders 23 Lions 22
June 17: Maori All Blacks 10 Lions 32
June 20: Chiefs 6 Lions 34
June 24: New Zealand 30 Lions 15
June 27: Hurricanes 31 Lions 31
July 1: New Zealand 21 Lions 24
July 8: New Zealand v Lions