Passenger hauled off flight as he declares ‘that does not rely as sexual harassment’
The attendant on the Malaysia Airlines flight told him to respect the rules in place. When he again questioned whether his actions qualified as sexual harassment, she replied it was for her to determine
Guards removed him from the flight after the incident(Image: 双喜头本红抱枕/Facebook)
A passenger on a Malaysia Airlines flight was escorted off the plane by security after he allegedly inappropriately touched a female flight attendant.
The incident took place in Kuala Lumpur shortly after midnight on April 8, before the flight departed for Beijing. An argument followed, during which the passenger questioned whether he had done anything wrong, as seen in a video circulating online.
“I just lightly patted you twice, and you won’t let me take the plane?” he said to a flight attendant who appeared to be the alleged victim. “That’s considered light?” she responded, adding firmly that he could not continue on the flight because his attitude unreasonably difficult.
While still seated, the passenger raised his voice as he challenged the accusation against him. “This counts as sexual harassment? Even in Singapore, this wouldn’t count as sexual harassment, right?” he asked.
The flight attendant told him to respect the rules in place. When he again questioned whether his actions qualified as sexual harassment, she replied that it was for her to determine.
She later informed him that airport authorities would not allow him to remain on the flight. The passenger repeatedly insisted that it was “not [his] problem” and said that being asked to change flights would cause him trouble.
He also asked to review any CCTV footage to prove his innocence. The flight attendant stood firm and appeared to tell him that he was fully aware of what he had done.
Among his other arguments, he claimed that “China-Malaysia relations are very good”. Eventually, two security officers removed him from his seat and escorted him down the aisle.
According to the individual who recorded and shared the video online, the passenger is a Chinese national. The person who filmed the incident is reportedly a Malaysian tour leader working for a travel company.
In a post that has since been taken down, he clarified that he did not personally witness the alleged touching, but added that such reactions do not arise without reason.
The tour leader, identified as Ye, said technical issues had disrupted the boarding process and left him frustrated with how ground staff handled the situation.
He explained that some passengers had their seats reassigned, which prevented them from accessing the boarding gate using their original boarding passes.
According to Ye, the situation became chaotic, and ground staff were slow to issue updated boarding passes.
Many Chinese passengers appeared confused because they could not understand what was happening, and no translation assistance was provided.
Flight tracking data for MH318 showed that the departure was delayed by about an hour, from 11:40pm to 12:41am.
