Police called after woman insists on holding large box on her lap on flight from Singapore to KL

SINGAPORE: A woman who had a Batik Air flight from Singapore to Malaysia brought with her a large cardboard box. When the flight attendants asked to put it away for safety’s sake, she insisted on keeping it on her lap and refused to hand it over for proper storage.

After the box was taken from her, she was asked to leave the flight. However, she also refused to do so.

The police were eventually called, and the woman was escorted off the plane, according to reporting from Shin Min Daily News.

As travellers by air are told on every flight, personal belongings are required to be stowed properly to prevent them from causing harm to anyone in case a plane encounters turbulence. In addition, in cases of an emergency, keeping areas clear of large items makes a speedy evacuation possible.

Batik Air OD804, bound for Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday afternoon (Sept 30), was scheduled to depart from Singapore’s Changi Airport Terminal 4 at 12:30 p.m.

Because of the woman’s refusal to comply with the flight crew, it ended up leaving 45 minutes after its original departure time.

The report said that the woman, described as being in her 20s, had brought the box along as her carry-on luggage. Upon boarding, she placed the box on her lap.

A passenger on the flight, Ms Ke, spoke to the Chinese daily, saying that the box was so large it could not even fit in the overhead compartment.

She added that the flight attendants spoke to the woman multiple times, offering to put the box away for safekeeping and promising to return it to her as soon as they arrived in Kuala Lumpur, but she continued to refuse.

When her box was taken away, the woman would not budge from her seat. Finally, after five police officers boarded the plane, the woman got off the flight.

Caught on cam

The incident was caught on camera and posted on TikTok. A video from minimanimo (@mickyng521) first showed a male flight attendant carrying a box in his arms toward the front of the aircraft. Next, male and female officers could be seen speaking on the plane, while an announcement was made urging people to follow the given instructions. Finally, a young woman is seen following the officers in order to get off the plane.

“Flight delayed because of someone uncooperative. Well done, Batik Air and Singapore authorities handled it professionally!” the TikToker wrote in the caption. /TISG

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