Man charged with being drunken nuisance at Changi Airport, bulldozing past airport staff
David Sun
The Straits Times
Aug 12, 2026
A traveller who was drunk and caused a 45-minute flight delay at Changi Airport has been charged with being a nuisance.
Arudchelvan Karnan, 25, a British national, was handed five charges on Aug 12.
Two were for harassment, while the remaining three were for causing annoyance while drunk in public, unauthorised entry to a protected place and causing hurt.
According to court documents, the episode began at 3.45pm on July 20, when he was drunk and shouting at Gate C17, annoying those around him.
At 3.50pm, he allegedly harassed a female airport staff member by using vulgarities on her and accusing her of being racist.
At 4.05pm, after being told he was to be offloaded from a Scoot flight, he allegedly charged onto the aerobridge.
A minute later, he allegedly hurt another female staff member by bulldozing past her and causing her to fall.
He then uttered abusive words that included vulgarities, mentioning Singapore and Malaysia.
The police said on Aug 11 that the man’s actions had delayed the flight to Kuala Lumpur by 45 minutes.
When Arudchelvan appeared in court on Aug 12, he said he wanted a lawyer.
The court had considered changing his bail, which would have required a Singaporean to bail him out. But it did not do so after Arudchelvan said he did not know anyone here.
He is currently out on $1,000 bail with his passport impounded, and the case is expected to be heard again on Aug 19.
If convicted of causing annoyance while intoxicated in a public place, Arudchelvan can be fined up to $1,000 and jailed for up to six months.
For using threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour, he can be fined up to $5,000.
He can also be fined up to $20,000 and jailed for up to two years for unauthorised entry to a protected place.
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