An unruly passenger who sparked wild scenes on board a Qantas flight will not face any consequences in court for his outrageous behaviour.
Puri Siddawala, 30, caused mayhem on Qantas flight QF46 between Bali and Melbourne in December 2023 during which he asked a female cabin crew to ‘give me a kiss’ before leaping towards them.
The harrowing ordeal was captured on camera by terrified passengers, who feared he would bring down the aircraft.
On Friday, Mr Siddawala walked free from the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court after Commonwealth prosecutors dropped all charges against him.
He had been charged under the Crimes Aviation Act with assault on a plane and making threats to kill.
n Federal Police agents boarded the aircraft when it arrived in Melbourne and took him into custody.
Siddawala’s lawyer, high profile Melbourne criminal lawyer George Balot, of Balot Reilly Criminal Lawyers, told the magistrate his client suffered a serious mental condition that triggered his mile-high meltdown.
‘This is a case that concerns automatism and that was the reason for the withdrawal,’ he told the court.
It is a condition that brings on intrusive thoughts or verbal expressions without the individual’s intentional effort.
Mr Siddawala had to be restrained by crew and passengers after attacking staff on the flight, which left Denpasar on a Saturday night and landed in Melbourne just before 7am the following day.
Witnesses told reporters at the time they believed Mr Siddawala had ‘gone crazy’.
Daily Mail can reveal Mr Siddawala allegedly threatened to blow up the plane.
‘I will cut you up. I will stab you,’ court documents alleged.
‘Where is my AK-47. Where is my knife … I have a gun I will kill you c***s, Victoria police dogs. I will blow up the plane.’
Footage of the shocking incident showed him standing up from his seat and screaming incoherently before declaring: ‘If you don’t get away from me I will f*** you’.
He then lunged towards a flight attendant and grabbed her by the arm while saying ‘no no listen baby, give me a kiss’.
Another flight attendant then rushed to the scene and firmly told him to sit down.
‘Get down now, get back’ she said.
Mr Siddawala then fell from his standing position on the seat and started yelling for his parents.
A witness posted footage to social media showing Mr Siddawala being held down on the floor and surrounded by flight attendants, one of whom was kneeling on his back.
‘He’s still been restrained after four hours. Everyone is safe. What a bl***y flight!’ the witness said on Instagram.
He said the staff had been ‘amazing’ in their efforts to keep Mr Siddawala under control.
Other passengers said Mr Siddawala was allegedly agitated, screaming and shouting, before the incident occurred.
In explaining his client’s behaviour, Mr Balot said Mr Siddawala wanted to apologise to the Qantas crew and passengers he tormented.
‘He wants to express his apologies, although he doesn’t have a recollection, he’s watched the footage,’ he said.
Mr Balot said his client further wished to thank a ‘Good Samaritan’ who had been on the flight and attempted to assist Mr Siddawala.
‘He was a doctor … who sedated him,’ Mr Balot said.
‘It was a very unfortunate incident and he’s extremely remorseful for it.’
Outside court, Mr Balot said it was clear his client had serious mental health issues.
‘The issue in this case was and has always been the defence of automatism,’ he told Daily Mail .
‘My client had an absence of all the deliberative functions of the mind so that he acted automatically.’