ZAMBOANGA CITY (Mindanao Examiner / May 1, 2013) – Philippine airport police arrested a man after he joked that he was carrying a bomb inside a Manila-bound passenger plane in the southern city of Zamboanga.
Police said Kim Castillo, who works at a shipping company in Dubai, was detained after flight attendants informed authorities about it.
The 45-year old Castillo said he was only joking when he told a flight attendant to be careful with his bag because it contained a bomb. “I was only joking and not aware that it is against the law,” he said.
Police said the flight was delayed after authorities searched the aircraft for bombs. It said the law is contained in Presidential Decree 1727 which is often referred to as the “Anti-bomb Joke Law’ or “Bomb Joke Law.”
The law punishes “any person who, by word of mouth or through the use of the mail, telephone, telegraph, printed materials and other instrument or means of communication, wilfully makes any threat or maliciously conveys, communicates, transmits, imparts, passes on, or otherwise disseminates false information, knowing the same to be false, concerning an attempt or alleged attempt being made to kill, injure, or intimidate any individual or unlawfully to damage or destroy any building, vehicle, or other real or personal property, by means of explosives, incendiary devices, and other destructive forces of similar nature or characteristics.”
It carries a penalty of 5 years or a fine of P40,000 or both at the discretion of the court. (Mindanao Examiner)
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