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Child Item

€2500 fine for private joke with daughter..

Lapin

A security alert was declared at Dublin Airport today following an incident on an Aer Lingus flight from Milan.

It is understood a passenger on the plane claimed he had Ebola after writing it on a coffee cup.

Gardaí say they are at the scene of a public order offence.

In a statement to RTÉ News, Aer Lingus said: "A security issue arose on flight EI 433 (Milan to Dublin.) As a precaution passengers and crew were temporarily held on board the aircraft at Dublin airport while the matter was investigated."

RTÉ News - Full Article

Now unlike our friend in Stansted the other day, this is a very different kettle of fish.

Claiming to have a highly transmittable disease that has the planet on alert at the moment in a confined space like an aircraft reveals a level of stupidity that is hard to match.

He should be taken to the isolated observation unit at the Mater hospital and held there for three weeks to assertain whether he is bullshítting or not.

Then if this proves to be the case (which I suspect it is), upon his discharge, he should have label placed on his back with the words 'I'M A GOBSHÍTE' written on it and be kicked up and down O'Connell Street Dublin for an hour on a busy Saturday afternoon..

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josip

Something doesn't add up here.
Since when do Italians buy crap, overpriced coffee on a plane?

kylith

OpenYourEyes wrote: »

The judge said it was as serious as saying there was a bomb on the plane - except a bomb would kill everyone on the plane, but the only way everyone could have caught ebola if he was infected would be if they came in contact with his blood, excrement, semen etc. - and even then, with immediate care they'd probably recover.

So was it serious? yes! Was it as serious as a bomb threat? Not even close!

Isn't sweat a vector too? If you were on that plane would you brush it off so easily?

The Backwards Man

The steward did their job. It's not their call to decide whether someone is having an innocent joke or is a bioterrorist. Same as with a bomb threat.

SteM

The way this was reported yesterday made me think that the guy was an idiot. The actual facts make me think the air steward has him beat in that department. As for the Judge, talk about an overreaction......

WoollyRedHat

As if someone who actually has an ebola is going to announce it to everyone else.

The air stewardness should stop reading people's cups, it's an invasion of privacy damnit.

Magico Gonzalez

( "bomb", "ebola", "watch out mr I have some drugs on me") = Fine.

Consider it a stupidity tax. Better that a charity has the cash and a lesson has been learned.

Timmyctc

Del2005 wrote: »

A couple of hundred people where affected and a plane was taken out of service, which costs a lot more than his little donation. There are private jokes and plain stupidity, making a joke about Ebola in the current panic knee jerk reactions is stupidity just short of writing bomb.

Its hardly his fault that people have these retarded knee jerk reactions. It pains me that everywhere in the world is getting overly sensitive about everything.

GreeBo

Jenda wrote: »

When are people ever going to learn?

"Harmless jokes" about ebola on an airplane, or in an airport, are not harmless.

They can, have, and will be taken seriously for the safety of everyone working on board and everyone travelling, and you'll be up the creek for having made them - and they're right to do so.

To the poster above mine - if he "only shared a private harmless joke to his daughter about his intention to blow the plane up" or whatever, it would still be taken seriously, as it should be.

Taken seriously by whom though?
It wasnt directed to anyone other than his daughter, frankly it was none of the stewardesses business what he writes on his cups.

This isnt in the same ball park as someone "joking" with a stewardess or check-in staff about having a bomb. This shouldn't have made it anywhere once the guy explained to the stewardess.

SEPT 23 1989

Del2005 wrote: »

A couple of hundred people where affected and a plane was taken out of service, which costs a lot more than his little donation. There are private jokes and plain stupidity, making a joke about Ebola in the current panic knee jerk reactions is stupidity just short of writing bomb.

it should never have got to the stage where a bloody plane was taken out of service

what planet are the aircrews on?

The_Valeyard

Very silly thing to do when the world is on edge and near hysteria over Ebola.

SteM

yipeeeee wrote: »

Not too mention the delays to the passengers and wasting garda time etc.

He got off easy.

The steward that notified the Gardai should done for wasting their time.

[Deleted User]

How much are they going to fine the airline staff for wasting emergency services time

Macavity.

handlemaster wrote: »

That will make him think twice next time. A company director coming to create jobs !!! And cant pull 2500 together for a fine... good one.

His ability to pay the fine or not shouldn't be a factor at all. Ridiculous decision by judge.

OpenYourEyes

The judge said it was as serious as saying there was a bomb on the plane - except a bomb would kill everyone on the plane, but the only way everyone could have caught ebola if he was infected would be if they came in contact with his blood, excrement, semen etc. - and even then, with immediate care they'd probably recover.

So was it serious? yes! Was it as serious as a bomb threat? Not even close!

Del2005

seamus wrote: »

Yeah, the way the media reported this yesterday, it sounded like some idiot making a joke in bad taste. I'm going to put this in bold because people clearly didn't see this bit:

He didn't show the cup to anybody but his daughter. An air steward picked it up and panicked

Clearly in this case the guy was sharing a private (and frankly funny) joke with his daughter, and had no intention of causing any offence or panic. €2,500 is a ridiculous fine, the judge is on another planet here. People are allowed to make private jokes regardless of how crude or offensive someone else may think it is.

I suspect this poor guy just pleaded guilty on the basis that the solicitor told him he'd get away with a fine and no conviction, rather than spend the next 18 months fighting this.

And in other news a man with 92 convictions gets 2 years for threatening to murder a Garda.

Fncking judges, no sense of proportion. The steward should lose their job to be quite frank.

A couple of hundred people where affected and a plane was taken out of service, which costs a lot more than his little donation. There are private jokes and plain stupidity, making a joke about Ebola in the current panic knee jerk reactions is stupidity just short of writing bomb.

The Backwards Man

He got away light enough, the furore he caused cost a lot more than that.

Current protocols aside, he should have been reprimanded for such an unfunny 'joke' regardless.

FTA69

The world has gone f*cking cracked. Also what sort of steward would possibly think that genuine ebola samples would be found in a bin contained in a f*cking Costa take-away paper cup?

Timmyctc

This is utterly retarded. What did the ****ing Air Stewards think, the coffee cup was transporting a sample of Ebola? FFS a bit of common ****ing sense in the world wouldn't go amiss.

I vote to reinstate natural selection. Lets take the "This product may contain nuts" warning off the back of packets of peanuts, see how we get on.

Magico Gonzalez

Seamus, it wasn't "in private", it was on a plane!

Context is important here, if he writes that on a coffee cup in his own house. Fair play, well done.

On a plane, whether you like it or not, certain inflexible security procedures are necessary for our protection and imposed upon the airlines for our benefit.

Judge was intelligent enough to realise a sentence was not appropriate but that a 2500 e fine was a useful deterrent to the next amateur comedian who feels like being a pain in the hole for a few hundred fellow passsengers and wasting valuable emergency services time.

SteM

doolox wrote: »

....comes to mind. The guy should have realized that flippancy about death or disease related stuff does not go down well in Ireland

It's not really the same as shouting FIRE in a crowded place for everyone to hear at all though.

It would be the same as writing fire on a piece of paper and passing it to a friend and someone working in the theatre spotting it and reporting it to the Gardai.

[Deleted User]

Judge Anthony Halpin said he could not think of a more serious offence given the present day fear of Ebola.

Can't think of a more serious offence? Like actually bombing the plane or actually spreading a disease or killing someone, no???

Pumpkinseeds

It's a ridiculous overreaction by the judge. How was this anything other than a waste of Garda and Court time

A fine for having a sense of humour. OK, it was a stupid thing to do, but ffs, people are stupid and we do stupid things. Maybe the government can introduce a stupidity tax:D

FactCheck

Mr Binaschi had pleaded guilty to using threatening abusive or insulting behaviour on board an aircraft.

Does this mean he lost the rag and started swearing at the air hostesses when they questioned him?

Because the fine seems fair enough if so.

Or is the "threatening" just the writing down of the word Ebola? In which case it seems like the whole thing could have been handled with a bit more cop on.

Duggy747

This man is clearly worse than Hitler.

handlemaster

That will make him think twice next time. A company director coming to create jobs !!! And cant pull 2500 together for a fine... good one.

Jenda

When are people ever going to learn?

"Harmless jokes" about bombs on an airplane, or in an airport, are not harmless.

"Harmless jokes" about terrorism on an airplane, or in an airport, are not harmless.

"Harmless jokes" about ebola on an airplane, or in an airport, are not harmless.

They can, have, and will be taken seriously for the safety of everyone working on board and everyone travelling, and you'll be up the creek for having made them - and they're right to do so.

And what's more, pretty well everyone travelling knows that and think it doesn't apply to them personally because staff are meant to be mind readers about your intent (I've seen this most often with white Americans who are shocked that they're treated the same as everybody else when it comes to these rules, but that's purely anecdotal on my part from taking flights myself).

To the poster above mine - if he "only shared a private harmless joke to his daughter about his intention to blow the plane up" or whatever, it would still be taken seriously, as it should be.

seamus

Yeah, the way the media reported this yesterday, it sounded like some idiot making a joke in bad taste. I'm going to put this in bold because people clearly didn't see this bit:

He didn't show the cup to anybody but his daughter. An air steward picked it up and panicked

Clearly in this case the guy was sharing a private (and frankly funny) joke with his daughter, and had no intention of causing any offence or panic. €2,500 is a ridiculous fine, the judge is on another planet here. People are allowed to make private jokes regardless of how crude or offensive someone else may think it is.

I suspect this poor guy just pleaded guilty on the basis that the solicitor told him he'd get away with a fine and no conviction, rather than spend the next 18 months fighting this.

And in other news a man with 92 convictions gets 2 years for threatening to murder a Garda.

Fncking judges, no sense of proportion. The steward should lose their job to be quite frank.

Rotunda Shill

Roberto Binaschi, 56

5+6 = 11

It was probably all a hoax to fearmonger the Ebola crisis.

AlanS181824

Wow that's crazy.

snubbleste

hotmail.com wrote: »

Why is this the top story on RTE?

Because it is RTÉ