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Tuesday, 09 February 2010 - 24 Safar 1431 H
FRONT PAGE Stubborn Saudia flight smoker to get 30 lashes
By Adnan Shabrawi
JEDDAH – A man who stubbornly smoked on a Saudi Arabian Airlines (SAA or Saudia) domestic flight was given a court verdict of 30 lashes here Sunday.
The Sudanese man had refused to stub out his cigarette despite repeated warnings from the flight crew members during a flight from Qurayat to Jeddah.
When the plane landed at King Abdul Aziz Airport in Jeddah, the man was handed over to police.
The Commission for Investigation and Prosecution gathered evidence and sent the man on trial. In court, the man apologized and said he was visiting an anti-smoking clinic.
Smoking on SAA domestic flights was banned some two decades ago. In 1999, SAA made its international flights smoke-free.
In April 2008, a court in the Eastern Province sentenced a man to 50 lashes for smoking on board a Dammam-Riyadh Saudia flight. – Okaz/SG
The Sudanese man had refused to stub out his cigarette despite repeated warnings from the flight crew members during a flight from Qurayat to Jeddah.
When the plane landed at King Abdul Aziz Airport in Jeddah, the man was handed over to police.
The Commission for Investigation and Prosecution gathered evidence and sent the man on trial. In court, the man apologized and said he was visiting an anti-smoking clinic.
Smoking on SAA domestic flights was banned some two decades ago. In 1999, SAA made its international flights smoke-free.
In April 2008, a court in the Eastern Province sentenced a man to 50 lashes for smoking on board a Dammam-Riyadh Saudia flight. – Okaz/SG
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2 Comments have been posted. Post Your Comments
» Stubborn Flight Smoker 50 Lashes | tenderheart posted...
This is too harsh. He admitted to having a smoking problem, and is getting help for it. I think a fine would have been better. Show clemency. Medical conditions are hard enough to live with. Encourage him to use that gum that is on the market, instead of smoking on the plane. I'm sure that would have helped. Maybe cigarettes should be banned from planes during flights. That would eliminate the problem all together.
» | Shana Badawi posted... Saudia's flights are not totally "smoke free", since they still allow the cockpit crew to smoke on flights and this smoke passes through to the cabin.
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