Police detained a 69-year-old Australian man on Wednesday after he told an airport security officer in the city of Dipolog that he wanted to take a bomb, GMA News Online reported, Xinhua news agency reported. going.
When the airport agent asked the man if he had electronic devices in his bag, he reportedly said: "No, just a nuclear bomb." Realizing that the joke did not please the agent, the passenger said it was a joke.
Authorities arrested the man, although no bomb was found in his bag. Local media reported that he now faces charges of violating the anti-bomb joke law.
Bomb jokes are banned in the Philippines. Security and law enforcement take a serious view of jokes that contain references to bombs, explosives, or any instrument of violence at an airport or during a flight.
Eight bomb hoaxes were recorded in 2023, and airport officials recorded three incidents through January 2024. The incidents took place at various airports, check-in counters, hold baggage areas and inside the aircraft.
In May, the Philippines' Bureau of Immigration warned that foreign nationals involved in bomb jokes could face denial of entry to the Southeast Asian country or deportation.
When the airport agent asked the man if he had electronic devices in his bag, he reportedly said: "No, just a nuclear bomb." Realizing that the joke did not please the agent, the passenger said it was a joke.
Authorities arrested the man, although no bomb was found in his bag. Local media reported that he now faces charges of violating the anti-bomb joke law.
Bomb jokes are banned in the Philippines. Security and law enforcement take a serious view of jokes that contain references to bombs, explosives, or any instrument of violence at an airport or during a flight.
Eight bomb hoaxes were recorded in 2023, and airport officials recorded three incidents through January 2024. The incidents took place at various airports, check-in counters, hold baggage areas and inside the aircraft.
In May, the Philippines' Bureau of Immigration warned that foreign nationals involved in bomb jokes could face denial of entry to the Southeast Asian country or deportation.
