[Yonhap Photo]
The man accused of a drunken rampage aboard a flight from Vietnam to South Korea cited an alcohol-induced memory blackout Monday as he appeared for a criminal investigation by police.
The 34-year-old identified as Im Beom-joon (phonetic) apologized for he has done last Tuesday aboard a Korean Air plane flying to Incheon. "I apologize for causing public concern," the man wearing eyeglasses, a white face mask and a beanie hat said at the entrance of a police station in Incheon west of Seoul.
However, he said he could not bring back his memory and said, "It's beyond recollection." "My behavior has deeply disappointed my father. I will do my best to correct my wrong habitude and knock the nonsense out of me."
The man faces charges of inflicting injuries and violating a law on aviation safety. He s accused of beating and spitting at cabin attendants and passenger. Police will conduct a doping test because he was slapped with a fine of 200 US dollars in Vietnam for a similar incident in September.
The latest disturbance gained international attention after American rock star Richard Marx and his wife uploaded critical posts and pictures on their Facebook and Instagram.
Marx, who was on his way back to his home in Los Angeles via Incheon, was praised for playing a role in controlling the drunken passenger. The 53-year-old rock ballad legend criticized how Korean Air's crew members were ill-prepared for such an incident.
A video uploaded on Facebook showed the man kicking, spitting and hurling insults when crew members tied him down to the seat with ropes and cable ties.
Disruptive air passengers face tough punishment or a maximum prison term of five years under a revised aviation law prompted by the infamous "nut rage" case involving Cho Hyun-ah, the daughter of Korean Air's founding family, in late 2014.
The fine for drunken passengers who injure other passengers doubled to 10 million won (8,299 US dollars) in an effort to curb disruptive in-flight cases which have been on the rise with some passengers acting under the influence of alcohol.
Cho made international headlines after she ordered a flight attendant off a taxiing plane. She said she had become enraged after a flight attendant served her some nuts in a bag instead of a dish, and insisted the plane return to the gate so he could be removed from the flight.
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