China to give penalties for flight bomb hoaxes

BEIJING - Law enforcement authorities vowed on Tuesday to hand down harsher punishments for those found guilty of fabricating threats targeting civilian flights following a series of such hoaxes.

The Ministry of Public Security (MPS) said in a statement that those who made false bomb threats targeting a number of flights last week have been arrested.

The MPS has issued a notice to police in all areas asking them to treat similar cases as criminal cases in the future, as criminal cases bear greater punishment.

Five flights operated by China Eastern Airlines, Juneyao Airlines and Shenzhen Airlines were targeted by bomb threats last Wednesday. All flights at the Jiangbei International Airport in Southwest China's Chongqing municipality were disrupted for over one hour following a Friday bomb threat.

The threats came in the form of anonymous phone calls placed to airports and airline offices.

The MPS said the hoaxes created long delays and severely disrupted civilian flight order.

According to China's criminal law and civil aviation law, those who intentionally disrupt flight operations by fabricating threats may receive punishments ranging from detention to a jail term of less than five years, or more than five years for those whose actions have severe consequences.