KUALA LUMPUR: A Palestinian national who managed to sneak onboard a Singapore-bound Boeing 777-200 via the nose wheel last Thursday did not turn up on any closed-circuit television camera recordings.
And now red-faced officials are wondering how this serious security breach occurred under their noses with airports worldwide tightening security.
Transport Minister Datuk Seri Chan Kong Choy did not mince words when he said the security breach at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport should have not happened.
"I was angry and upset when I was briefed about the incident and I have told Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) to submit a full report and investigation on the incident," he said.
MAHB operations senior general manager Datuk Azmi Murad said surveillance tapes did not reveal the Palestinian anywhere in the airport.
The suspect, Osama R.M. Shublaq, 27, is said to have hidden in the nose wheel well on Flight SQ 119 from Kuala Lumpur late on Thursday night.
He was discovered after falling 2.4m from the nose wheel to the ground at the Changi International Airport in Singapore when it landed just after midnight.
According to Singapore media reports, the suspect was arrested by airport police and charged with entering the country without a valid pass or permit.
"We will co-operate with Singaporean authorities to ascertain how the stowaway managed to sneak aboard the flight," said Azmi.
MAHB senior general manager of security and AFRS services Datuk Kamaruddin Mohd Ismail said it was premature to comment on the issue as Singaporean police were questioning the suspect.
"We have begun our own investigations, but at this juncture, it would be unfair to say anything while the Singaporean police are still investigating the case," Kamaruddin said.
Meanwhile, checks with the Immigration Department revealed that there was no record of the stowaway entering or leaving the country.
"There are no records of the suspect at land, sea or air checkpoints that show he entered or exited the country," said the department's enforcement director Datuk Ishak Mohamed.
Veteran flight staff have expressed amazement that the man survived the journey as he could have been crushed by the retracting nose wheel.
The danger behind what the man is said to have done is underscored by previous cases of stowaways found dead on arrival elsewhere in the world.
They were either killed by the cold, the lack of oxygen at high altitude, or crushed by retracting landing gear.
The air in the wheel well is not pressurised or heated.
If convicted, the man could be jailed for up to six months, caned, or fined up to S$6,000 (RM14,000).
Source: The New Straits Times
Transport Minister Datuk Seri Chan Kong Choy did not mince words when he said the security breach at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport should have not happened.
"I was angry and upset when I was briefed about the incident and I have told Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) to submit a full report and investigation on the incident," he said.
MAHB operations senior general manager Datuk Azmi Murad said surveillance tapes did not reveal the Palestinian anywhere in the airport.
He was discovered after falling 2.4m from the nose wheel to the ground at the Changi International Airport in Singapore when it landed just after midnight.
According to Singapore media reports, the suspect was arrested by airport police and charged with entering the country without a valid pass or permit.
"We will co-operate with Singaporean authorities to ascertain how the stowaway managed to sneak aboard the flight," said Azmi.
MAHB senior general manager of security and AFRS services Datuk Kamaruddin Mohd Ismail said it was premature to comment on the issue as Singaporean police were questioning the suspect.
"We have begun our own investigations, but at this juncture, it would be unfair to say anything while the Singaporean police are still investigating the case," Kamaruddin said.
Meanwhile, checks with the Immigration Department revealed that there was no record of the stowaway entering or leaving the country.
"There are no records of the suspect at land, sea or air checkpoints that show he entered or exited the country," said the department's enforcement director Datuk Ishak Mohamed.
Veteran flight staff have expressed amazement that the man survived the journey as he could have been crushed by the retracting nose wheel.
The danger behind what the man is said to have done is underscored by previous cases of stowaways found dead on arrival elsewhere in the world.
They were either killed by the cold, the lack of oxygen at high altitude, or crushed by retracting landing gear.
The air in the wheel well is not pressurised or heated.
If convicted, the man could be jailed for up to six months, caned, or fined up to S$6,000 (RM14,000).
Source: The New Straits Times
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