GEORGE TOWN: Two local men and an Indonesian woman were arrested yesterday on suspicion of making a false bomb threat call at Penang International Airport.
In the incident that took place on Aug 3 at about 1pm, one of the suspects, a 38-year-old man, had made a call to airport security office, claiming there was a bomb at the AirAsia check-in counter at the airport.
Southwest district police chief Superintendent A.A. Anbalagan said police ordered all assets, including bomb squad, to check the counter and surrounding area thoroughly before they confirmed that the airport was safe.
He said following investigation, police arrested a 35-year-old Indonesian woman as soon as her plane from Medan, Indonesia, landed at the Penang airport last night. The 38-year-old man, who was there to fetch her, was arrested at the arrival hall while a 22-year-old man was arrested in Jitra, Kedah.
“Both men tested positive for drugs and have previous criminal record,” he told reporters here yesterday.
Anbalagan said the 38-year-old man used a phone that was registered under the woman’s name.
“In the incident, the 38-year-old man, accompanied by the Kedahan man, was on his way to the airport to send off the Indonesian woman when an argument broke out.
“To prevent the woman from leaving on her flight to Medan the older man asked the younger man to make a false bomb threat in hopes that it would cause a flight cancellation.
“The younger man had admitted to committing his part in the incident,” he said, adding that the case was being investigated under Section 507 of the Penal Code.
Anbalagan advised members of the public to refrain from making such conduct that can cause panic.