Airbubba
3rd Jan 2003, 03:25
Another in a continuing series...
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January 03, 2003
Australia jails British tourist for hijack joke
By Roger Maynard in Sydney and Sam Lister
A YOUNG British tourist who threatened to hijack a packed aircraft during a drunken prank was sent to prison for three months yesterday in Australia.
Thomas James Lilico, 21, burst into tears as he became the first person to fall foul of tough new anti-terrorism laws passed by the Australian Government after the September 11 terrorist attacks in the United States.
Lilico, from Darlington, Co Durham, was arrested on New Year’s Day after an attendant on a domestic flight from Cairns to Darwin overheard him talking to friends about using a knife to seize the aircraft.
The Briton, who had consumed eight pints of beer before boarding, also produced an aerosol from his luggage and started spraying the contents in the cabin.
Lilico and five friends were removed from the flight before take-off and he was charged under Australia’s Federal Crime (Aviation) Act. He admitted to police that he had drunk heavily before boarding and was still hung-over from a New Year’s Eve party. No knife was found in Lilico’s hand luggage and the aerosol was later identified as an asthma inhaler.
Ken Lynn, a magistrate sitting at Cairns Magistrates’ Court, said that he wanted to make an example of Lilico. The Briton, who was on a working holiday in Australia after completing a degree last summer, claimed that he could remember nothing of the incident.
Mr Lynn accepted that there was never any intention to carry out the threat, but he said that it should be made clear that if a decision was taken to drink too much, then go on to an aircraft and make “smart comments”, then the perpetrator must accept that his actions would have consequences.
Lilico admitted making a threatening and false statement in breach of the Federal Crime (Aviation) Act, becoming the first person to be imprisoned under the Act in Australia since it adopted a “zero tolerance” policy towards threatening remarks, in the wake of September 11 and the Bali bombings.
He will spend a month behind bars, with the remaining two months of his sentence being suspended. Only one other person has been convicted since the Bali bombings for a similar offence in Australia. That case ended with a Ł1,300 fine but no prison sentence.
Lilico’s parents, Jim, an officer with Darlington Borough Council, and Dorothy, a school administrator, were not available for comment last night.
Neighbours in the street in Darlington where the Briton lives said that the incident was completely out of character.
Sylvia Macdonald, who lives two doors from the Lilicos’ Edwardian family home, said: “Tom is a lovely lad. I can’t believe this has happened to him. He’s not a hooligan or a lout. He is just an ordinary young lad who has never caused his parents a moment of trouble in the past.
“They will be devastated that a thing like this has happened to a boy who has never been in trouble in his life. He must have had too much to drink and not realised the trouble that he was getting himself into. It’s a real shock and I feel deeply sorry for the whole of his family.”
A man who answered the door of the Lilicos’ home would not comment on the matter.
Mark Haslam, a criminal defence solicitor and partner at Burton Copeland, said that the speed of Australian justice was indicative of the severity with which such an incident is viewed.
He said that Lilico’s offence would attract an immediate custodial sentence, although in Britain the legal process might be slowed down by the compiling of pre-sentence reports.
“The courts take such actions very seriously. It is not uncommon for people who are drunk on aircraft to be jailed. For that offence to be exacerbated by the threat of a terrorist act would mean that anyone convicted could expect immediate imprisonment.
“It is perfectly possible that somebody in the same position in Britain could receive summary justice in the same time-frame, although it is less common in this country because courts are required to obtain background information about the defendant before sentencing to immediate imprisonment.
“But pre-sentence reports are not mandatory, and if a defendant pleads guilty and there is no mitigation, then it is perfectly possible for justice to be served as quickly.”
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,3-530336,00.html
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Tourist jailed for throwaway threat on Qantas plane
January 3 2003
A British tourist has become the first person in Australia since the September 11 terrorist attacks to be jailed for making a threatening comment aboard an aircraft.
Thomas John Lilico, 22, sat in the dock of Cairns Magistrates Court yesterday with his head in his hands and was led out crying after magistrate Ken Lynn sentenced him to three months' jail, suspended after one month, followed by a 12-month, $300 good behaviour bond.
Lilico was charged after an incident aboard a Qantas flight that was due to leave Cairns for Darwin at 9.45pm on New Year's Day.
The court was told that a flight attendant handing out headsets heard Lilico say, "I'm going to pull my knife out and hijack the plane."
The comment was made off the cuff and directed to no one in particular, the court heard. But the attendant felt immediately threatened and shocked, and told the captain.
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/01/02/1041196739583.html
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January 03, 2003
Australia jails British tourist for hijack joke
By Roger Maynard in Sydney and Sam Lister
A YOUNG British tourist who threatened to hijack a packed aircraft during a drunken prank was sent to prison for three months yesterday in Australia.
Thomas James Lilico, 21, burst into tears as he became the first person to fall foul of tough new anti-terrorism laws passed by the Australian Government after the September 11 terrorist attacks in the United States.
Lilico, from Darlington, Co Durham, was arrested on New Year’s Day after an attendant on a domestic flight from Cairns to Darwin overheard him talking to friends about using a knife to seize the aircraft.
The Briton, who had consumed eight pints of beer before boarding, also produced an aerosol from his luggage and started spraying the contents in the cabin.
Lilico and five friends were removed from the flight before take-off and he was charged under Australia’s Federal Crime (Aviation) Act. He admitted to police that he had drunk heavily before boarding and was still hung-over from a New Year’s Eve party. No knife was found in Lilico’s hand luggage and the aerosol was later identified as an asthma inhaler.
Ken Lynn, a magistrate sitting at Cairns Magistrates’ Court, said that he wanted to make an example of Lilico. The Briton, who was on a working holiday in Australia after completing a degree last summer, claimed that he could remember nothing of the incident.
Mr Lynn accepted that there was never any intention to carry out the threat, but he said that it should be made clear that if a decision was taken to drink too much, then go on to an aircraft and make “smart comments”, then the perpetrator must accept that his actions would have consequences.
Lilico admitted making a threatening and false statement in breach of the Federal Crime (Aviation) Act, becoming the first person to be imprisoned under the Act in Australia since it adopted a “zero tolerance” policy towards threatening remarks, in the wake of September 11 and the Bali bombings.
He will spend a month behind bars, with the remaining two months of his sentence being suspended. Only one other person has been convicted since the Bali bombings for a similar offence in Australia. That case ended with a Ł1,300 fine but no prison sentence.
Lilico’s parents, Jim, an officer with Darlington Borough Council, and Dorothy, a school administrator, were not available for comment last night.
Neighbours in the street in Darlington where the Briton lives said that the incident was completely out of character.
Sylvia Macdonald, who lives two doors from the Lilicos’ Edwardian family home, said: “Tom is a lovely lad. I can’t believe this has happened to him. He’s not a hooligan or a lout. He is just an ordinary young lad who has never caused his parents a moment of trouble in the past.
“They will be devastated that a thing like this has happened to a boy who has never been in trouble in his life. He must have had too much to drink and not realised the trouble that he was getting himself into. It’s a real shock and I feel deeply sorry for the whole of his family.”
A man who answered the door of the Lilicos’ home would not comment on the matter.
Mark Haslam, a criminal defence solicitor and partner at Burton Copeland, said that the speed of Australian justice was indicative of the severity with which such an incident is viewed.
He said that Lilico’s offence would attract an immediate custodial sentence, although in Britain the legal process might be slowed down by the compiling of pre-sentence reports.
“The courts take such actions very seriously. It is not uncommon for people who are drunk on aircraft to be jailed. For that offence to be exacerbated by the threat of a terrorist act would mean that anyone convicted could expect immediate imprisonment.
“It is perfectly possible that somebody in the same position in Britain could receive summary justice in the same time-frame, although it is less common in this country because courts are required to obtain background information about the defendant before sentencing to immediate imprisonment.
“But pre-sentence reports are not mandatory, and if a defendant pleads guilty and there is no mitigation, then it is perfectly possible for justice to be served as quickly.”
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,3-530336,00.html
________________________________________________
Tourist jailed for throwaway threat on Qantas plane
January 3 2003
A British tourist has become the first person in Australia since the September 11 terrorist attacks to be jailed for making a threatening comment aboard an aircraft.
Thomas John Lilico, 22, sat in the dock of Cairns Magistrates Court yesterday with his head in his hands and was led out crying after magistrate Ken Lynn sentenced him to three months' jail, suspended after one month, followed by a 12-month, $300 good behaviour bond.
Lilico was charged after an incident aboard a Qantas flight that was due to leave Cairns for Darwin at 9.45pm on New Year's Day.
The court was told that a flight attendant handing out headsets heard Lilico say, "I'm going to pull my knife out and hijack the plane."
The comment was made off the cuff and directed to no one in particular, the court heard. But the attendant felt immediately threatened and shocked, and told the captain.
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/01/02/1041196739583.html