It was like a scene from the movie Catch Me If You Can.

Dressed in a pilot‘s uniform and carrying an identification card, Alexandrinus Seetoh walked on board three different Tiger Airways flights.

The trouble was, he was not a real pilot but an imposter trying to gain access to the cockpit.

The 37-year-old, who is suspected to be suffering from a mental illness, used a fake identity card to make his ruse more convincing, The Straits Times understands.

His escapades were reminiscent of the 2002 film starring Leonardo DiCaprio as a young man who successfully poses as an airline captain for the now- defunct carrier Pan Am.

In Seetoh’s case, however, the mission was apparently not successful.

“At no point did he enter the cockpit despite his attempts to gain entry,” said a Tiger Airways spokesman.

She confirmed that the Singaporean was on board the flights in question as “a normal, paying passenger”.

Court papers state that Seetoh showed his forged pilot‘s identity card to four crew members and one pilot between January and April last year.

He was first caught at about 2:45pm on January 10, when he tried to trick Captain Francois Daniel Jansen Van Vuuren, who was in command of flight TR2182, into believing he was a pilot.

Seetoh faced five charges of fraudulently passing himself off as a pilot using a forged identity card. But he was granted a discharge not amounting to an acquittal by District Judge Shaifuddin Saruwan.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Amardeep Singh requested the move after Seetoh underwent a psychiatric assessment and several pre-trial conferences.

Such applications are made by the prosecution for various reasons, including a lack of evidence or the absence of a key witness. But the prosecution can still reopen the case if more evidence is uncovered.

Lawyer Josephus Tan, who is defending Seetoh under the Law Society’s Criminal Legal Aid Scheme, told the court that his client‘s parents have submitted a joint affidavit and will be ensuring that he seeks treatment at the Institute of Mental Health.

On October 24, Seetoh turned up at the Subordinate Courts in a suit and accompanied by his parents. When approached for an interview, he said: “I have no comment, I am flying off tonight.” (The Straits Times / ANN)


<관련 한글 기사>


가짜 비행기 조종사, 덜미 잡혀

비행기 조종사의 유니폼을 입고 관련 신분증을 소지한 가짜 조종사가 덜미를 잡혔다.

알렉산드리너스 시토(Alexandrinus Seetoh, 37)는 타이거에어웨이(Tiger Airways)의 항공기에 세 차례에 걸쳐 침입을 시도하였다. 그는 정신질환을 앓고 있는 것으로 보이며 가짜 신분증을 가지고 있었다고 더스트레이츠타임즈(The Straits Times)가 전했다.

그의 행동은 레오나르도 디카프리오가 2002년 출연한 영화 “캐치미이프유캔(Catch me if you can”을 연상시켰다. 시토의 경우 미션이 성공하지 못했다는 것이 영화와 달랐다.

타이거에어웨이즈 대변인은 그가 절대 조종석에 간 일은 없었다고 말했다. 승객들 역시 평소와 다름이 없었다.

법원 문서에 따르면 시토는 작년 1월과 4월 사이 승무원 네 명과 조종사 한 명에게 위조 신분증을 보여주었다고 한다.

그는 1월 10일 오후 2시 45분 경 처음으로 붙잡혔다. 그는 조종사 프랑수아 다니엘얀센반 부렌(Francois Daniel Jansen Van Vuuren)인 척 했으나 그가 TR2182 비행기를 조종 중이라는 것이 발견된 것이다.

그러나 그는 정신질환을 앓고 있으며, 증거와 목격자가 충분하지 않다는 이유로 지역판사샤이푸딘 사루완(Shaifuddin Saruwan)에 의해 석방되었다. 무죄를 인정받지는 못했으며, 시토의 부모는 법원에 선서 진술서를 제출한 상황이다. 증거가 더 발견될 경우 다시 판결이 내려질 예정이다.

10월 24일 시토는 정장 차림으로 부모와 함께 하급법원에 모습을 드러냈다. 인터뷰를 요청 받자 “저는 할 말이 없어요. 전 오늘 밤 비행이 있습니다.”라고 말했다. (코리아헤럴드)