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A Jetstar passenger who was Tasered by police for failing to sit in the right seat claims he received ‘consent’ from another customer to move next to his wife and one-year-old son.
Bolic Bet Malou, 30, had settled in on flight JQ977 from Perth to Melbourne on Saturday when a flight attendant asked if he could move to his assigned seat.
The father told the attendant that he and the man sitting in his assigned seat had agreed to swap places.
The situation quickly escalated after staff demanded Mr Malou move. His refusal to do so resulted in several Australian Federal Police officers storming the plane.
Shocking footage shows the father being dragged from his seat and tasered in front of shocked passengers as his wife screams: ‘What are you doing? You’re hurting him!’
Mr Malou was charged with disorderly conduct, assaulting a police officer and obstructing a public officer after allegedly becoming abusive on the flight.
The father told the Today Show on Wednesday that he had specifically asked the passenger if he could move and thought the issue had been resolved.
Bolic Bet Malou, 30, was tasered and escorted off a Jetstar flight from Perth to Melbourne on Sunday night after he refused to move away from his family to his assigned seat
‘[The man] told the crew member that “It’s okay, we’re all going to the same place”. She asked him “Are you sure?” and the man said “yes”, so she left,’ Mr Malou explained.
‘She came back again and she said “Can you please move?” I told her, “We have already solved the problem, the guy said it was ok and gave me his consent”.
‘She told me I had to leave and I said, “Ma’am I’ve done nothing wrong, I don’t have to leave I just want to sit here with my family”.’
Host Karl Stefanovic asked Mr Malou: ‘At that point, why didn’t you just move?’
‘I believed I was sitting in the right seat,’ he replied.
‘We were already on the wrong plane and all the seats had been shuffled. When she told me I wasn’t [in the right seat] I asked for consent.’
Jordan Vendy, who witnessed the violent scuffle on the Jetstar flight, said Mr Malou was being ‘quite reasonable’ with Jetstar staff before the situation escalated.
Australian Federal Police officers were called to the runway following reports of a ‘disorderly and aggressive passenger’ after Mr Malou told airline staff he was unwilling to move seats
‘He explained that nobody had any issues with the seating set up as it was,’ he said.
‘Mr Malou himself and everyone surrounding him was happy with the situation and where they had been sat, so I didn’t realise what the issue was.
‘It seems to have been escalated for no reason other than a shuffling of seating. I think it got totally blown out of proportion for such a small thing.’
Footage from inside the plane shows police officers storming the cabin and forcibly removing Mr Malou before using a taser in an attempt to subdue him.
Footage shows officers storm the plane and forcibly attempt to remove Malou before he is tasered as his wife is heard screaming: ‘What are you doing? You’re hurting him!’
He was then put in a headlock and escorted off the plane as he writhed in pain.
‘It happened so fast. Within moments it was spilling over into the aisle, over into my seat and my section. I didn’t see it coming,’ Mr Vendy said.
The AFP said they needed to restrain Mr Malou after he assaulted an officer.
‘Police were required to deploy a taser in order to restrain and arrest the man,’ the AFP said in a statement.
‘Three AFP officers sustained minor injuries that were later treated.’
Jetstar has thanked other passengers onboard for their patience during the arrest.
Bolic Bet Malou (pictured outside court on Monday) was tasered onboard a JetStar flight from Perth to Melbourne for refusing to move seats
‘The safety of our customers and crew is our number one priority and while the vast majority of our customers behave well, we have zero tolerance for those who don’t,’ a spokesperson said.
‘Our crew called the AFP for assistance when a customer (allegedly) became verbally and physically abusive after he repeatedly refused to follow their instructions to move to his assigned seat.
‘After checking on the welfare of the remaining customers and crew onboard, the flight departed Perth approximately one hour after its scheduled departure time.
‘We thank passengers for their patience as our crew worked with the AFP to manage the situation.’
Mr Malou appeared in court on Monday and pleaded not guilty to disorderly conduct, assaulting a police officer and obstructing a public office.
He has been handed a no-fly order until the matter is resolved and is not allowed to leave Perth until July 26.
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