LAOAG CITY: A 70-year-old female passenger bound for Manila is facing charges for making a bomb joke while her luggage is being screened at the departure area of the Laoag International Airport (LIA) Wednesday night.
Police Captain Nelson Fantonia, team leader of LIA’s office of transport security, identified the passenger as Mary Evelyn Dolor Neuen, a Dutch national and holder of a German passport who came with her family to Santa Maria town in Ilocos Sur for a holiday.
As of press time, Neuen is still in police custody while awaiting preliminary investigation at the Fiscal’s Office here. The passenger has also availed the service of a lawyer.
Fantonia said the screening officer suddenly stopped screening the passenger’s luggage when he heard her said: ‘There’s a bomb.’
The screening officer then alerted the Aviation Security Group as part of the standard procedure.
‘Upon receiving the report, the K9-OED unit immediately conducted paneling and upon thorough inspection, the result was negative of explosi
ve,’ Fantonia said.
He said this was the first time that they encountered such an incident and that this would serve as a lesson to everyone.
Source: Philippines News Agency