A RUSSIAN national was charged on Monday with threatening to blow up a Singapore Airlines plane.
A district court heard tax consultant Vlada Vitaly, 26, was on board the flight from Moscow to Singapore on April 16 this year. At about 4.30am, he had asked flight steward Isaac Joseph Pragasam for water and then told him: "You better get back to me. If not, I will blast this aircraft."
Through the Russian interpreter, Vitaly agreed that he had requested for a glass of water. He said he then turned to his friend seated next to him to say in Russian that if he does not get water to drink, he might vomit.
He added that the Russian word 'vomit' sounds very much like 'blow up', and this may have created a misunderstanding.
Represented by lawyer Edmond Pereira, Vitaly is asking for permission to leave Singapore and this matter would be heard at the pre-trial conference on Wednesday .
His trial will be held in June.
