I’m sure many of those who drink alcohol would know that drunk people tend to do things they typically wouldn’t do if they were to be sober. Some of us become braver to confess their love to someone thanks to the liquid courage or some of us become more talkative and open. However, there are some of us who become fuelled with rage and become violent.

That took a darker turn than expected.

While some of us may already know this and avoid drinking too much so that that side of us doesn’t come out, some don’t.

He Had Too Much To Drink

A 37-year-old Russian national by the name of Pomorin Roman was on Singapore Airlines (SIA) flight SQ 361 from Moscow to Singapore on 1 November 2019 presumably for a holiday. He sat in the business class cabin and consumed four glasses of champagne and four glasses of whiskey. He then became drunk.

I think you can guess where this is going.

At around 1am, he approached a female passenger seated in another row of the cabin and started talking to her. This was done so even with the passenger’s husband right beside her. Needless to say, the couple became uncomfortable and asked for the cabin crew’s assistance.

The crew escorted him back to his seat and they thought they wouldn’t have any problems anymore. Boy were they wrong. It was just the beginning.

He started shouting and waking all the other sleeping passengers up.

We all know it’s quite difficult to sleep on an airplane, so can you imagine their anger of being woken up after barely falling asleep? 

The crew told him to keep quiet but he disregarded them and continued anyway. He even got up from his seat to get to the female passenger once more before being escorted away again.

Seeing as they were unable to contain his unruly behaviour and the fact that he was disrupting all the other passengers, the crew decided to get help from the police. They reported this incident to them about four hours before the flight landed in Singapore. When they landed, Roman was immediately arrested at Changi Airport Terminal 3.

Court Hearing

According to police investigations, Roman was found with 111mg of ethanol per 100ml of blood after a blood sample was taken. For reference as to how drunk he was, the legal limit for driving in Singapore is 80mg per 100ml of blood.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Lim Shin Hui asked the court to impose a custodial sentence for Roman, citing that the Parliament had constantly increased penalties for first-time offenders for these kinds of offences under the Air Navigation Act, including jail time.

She said that “his unruly conduct posed a risk to the safety of other passengers and to Singapore’s (aviation) reputation” and that it was unfair for the passengers who had to deal with his behaviour because of the enclosed space of the airplane they were in.

In Roman’s defence, his lawyer said that he was absolutely excited that he was going on vacation with two of his friends that they partied and had some drinks prior to the flight. He then added that Roman has learnt his lesson and will not commit another offence again.

District Judge Hamidah Ibrahim sentenced Roman to three weeks’ jail backdated to his date of remand which was on 3 January. She said that “An airplane is an enclosed place. What you did affected the safety and security of all passengers, and the stewards and stewardesses should not have to put up with this behaviour.”

Hopefully, this serves as a reminder to all to know your alcohol limit and not to drink too much because you might end up doing things that you’ll regret. And of course, for every action, there will be a consequence.