Man held in China over fake plane bomb threats

Beijing: A man in China has been arrested for allegedly making false bomb threats that disrupted flights in five Chinese cities bound for Shanghai, police said on Saturday. 43-year-old man surnamed Ji, who was caught in Yancheng City of east China`s Jiangsu Province, admitted to making the prank calls yesterday, China Aviation Resources Net said. From 5:22 pm to 5:25 pm yesterday, police in the cities of Beijing, Chongqing, Shanghai, Tianjin, and Guangzhou received phone calls claiming there were bombs on airplanes bound for Shanghai. Police started an investigation immediately and caught Ji in less than two hours, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

Ji is the second person to have made such hoax bomb threats this week that disrupted flights in China. A man is in police custody for allegedly making such calls on Wednesday. Bomb threats made against three Chinese airlines on Wednesday affected five flights flying to Shenzhen. On Thursday, police apprehended a male suspect who allegedly made the threats in Dongguan, of south China`s Guangdong Province. At least 10 false bomb threats were reported in China last year, leading to significant losses for airlines and airports. According to China`s criminal law and civil aviation law, those who intentionally disturb flight operations by fabricating and spreading terrorism-related information may receive punishments ranging from detention to a jail term of less than five years, or more than five years for those whose actions had severe consequence. PTI