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Tuesday, June 23, 2009

big cow commited an offence!

The Electric New Paper :
Fined for breaching airport security
Company director uses airport pass to help his boss' daughter
HIS chairman asked for a favour - but it cost this company director five days in court and a $1,000 fine.

By Desmond Ng
23 June 2009

HIS chairman asked for a favour - but it cost this company director five days in court and a $1,000 fine.

He was asked, in March 2007, to escort his chairman's daughter and grand-daughter from the arrival gate at Changi Airport's Terminal 2, after their flight from Jakarta.

Company director Mathava Arulananthan, who was holding an airport seasonal pass, agreed, though his pass allowed him to enter the protected areas only for official duties or business.

He was fined for being in a protected area for non-official business. He could also have been jailed up to two years under section 7 of the Protected Areas and Protected Places Act.

Arulananthan, a director of Asialink Cargo Express, holds an airport seasonal pass that enabled him to enter protected places at Changi Airport, according to court papers obtained by The New Paper.

He said that in March 2007, he received a distressed phone call from his chairman, Mr Krishnan Kumar Ralhan, saying his daughter and grand-daughter faced imminent danger.

This was because the daughter's ex-husband, against whom she had a personal protection order in Indonesia, was also on the same flight.

The chairman asked Arulananthan to escort the duo from the arrival gate to his apartment here.

Arulananthan met the pair and ushered them to the immigration clearance area.

He cleared immigration through the airport pass-holder counter while the pair queued as passengers to have their passports cleared.

But immigration officer Marissa Fitria noticed Arulananthan and the pair walking together before they parted to different immigration counters.

She believed he was in the transit area unofficially and reported to a duty officer at the terminal.

The duty officer then interviewed Arulananthan who admitted that he was in the transit area to receive the duo.

Arulananthan was not on official duty then. He did not have any official business in the arrival transit area.

Pleaded guilty

But he argued through his lawyers from ATMD Bird & Bird that he should not be convicted of being in a protected area for non-official business because his presence was necessary to save lives, namely the lives of his chairman's daughter and grand-daughter.

He also argued that he should not be convicted because the meaning of 'official duty or business only' was not explained to him.

It was only after the five-day trial and the cross-examination of eight prosecution witnesses that he pleaded guilty.

Even then, he urged the court to grant him a conditional discharge and not to impose a jail term.

But the court found that he was not remorseful and had made unnecessary and baseless allegations against the prosecution witnesses.

District Judge Lee-Khoo Poh Choo said: 'I agree with prosecution that the accused had shown no remorse.

'The cross examination of prosecution witnesses was intense. Unnecessary and baseless allegations were thrown at them as well as alluding to their incompetence.'

The court felt he should not have set a poor example for his subordinate officers by misusing his pass.

Added the judge: 'I also rejected the explanation that because the condition 'official duty or business only' was not explained to the accused, he thought that he could use his airport pass to enter the protected place to meet his chairman's daughter and grand-daughter.

'The accused was certainly not illiterate, ignorant nor naive. He was a businessman with many years of experience.'

And if Arulananthan had truly believed his chairman's daughter and grand-daughter to be in imminent danger, he would have alerted the police.

Instead, he had a leisurely lunch even after receiving his chairman's call.

Said the judge: 'I gave no weight to this excuse. I believe the accused (Arulananthan) took it upon himself to misuse his airport pass to do a favour for his chairman.'

Arulananthan has paid the fine, but is appealing against the sentence..

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ok, the thing is, i used to work in Changi Airport and i used to carry the same pass as this fella. And i used to go to Changi Airport almost all my off days to hang out coz, seriously, it's nice to be there la... :D and i believe there are a lot of airport staffs that does the same thing. i even used my airport pass to go into the transit area when Andy Lau went to Singapore just to see him. And guess what? there were a lot of airport staffs doing that at that time too :D i went to pick up Ms Windy when she flew into Singapore before.... i even sent my bro to the gate when he flew back to USA. Basically what i m trying to say is, everyone does it! of coz dont abuse the pass and do terrorist stuffs la... duh... so anyway, what i suspect is hor, this fella that got caught must be pretty yong sui or he must have offended the person who reported him la... :P

seriously one, airport staffs are pretty cool with each other one :D

i seriously missed working at the airport la.. :D

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