Man fined for swearing at airline officer, damaging aerobridge at Changi Airport
Richard Michael Roll Burridge had become angry after he was told his missing phone could not be found.
Richard Michael Roll Burridge arriving at the State Courts on Mar 20, 2025, and the damage he caused to the wall panel of an aerobridge at Changi Airport. (Photos: CNA/Lim Li Ting, Attorney-General's Chambers)
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SINGAPORE: A British man who verbally abused an airline officer and caused damage to an aerobridge at Changi Airport was fined S$5,000 (US$3,740) on Thursday (Mar 20).
Richard Michael Roll Burridge, 57, pleaded guilty to one count of harassment and one count of mischief.
At around 11.40pm on Mar 7, Burridge was on board a Singapore Airlines flight that was scheduled to depart Singapore for London, according to court documents.
As he was waiting for other passengers to board the plane, he realised that he had misplaced his mobile phone.
Using another phone, he called his wife and got her to use an app to look for the missing phone. The app indicated that the device was in a departure transit lounge.
Burridge informed an aircraft crew member that he had lost his phone at the lounge. The crew member then contacted the victim and sought her help to find the phone. The victim subsequently asked her colleague who was stationed at the lounge to conduct a search, but the phone could not be found.
Burridge disembarked from the plane at about 11.43pm and approached the victim, a traffic liaison officer who was deployed to a gate hold room at Changi Airport Terminal 3.
The man asked to leave the room to personally look for his phone. However, the victim told him that he would be offloaded if he did so as the boarding gate was closing. She also informed him that her colleague had searched the lounge and had not found a phone there.
Burridge was angered by this and directed profanities at her. Court documents stated that the victim "felt scared and insulted" as a result.
After swearing at her, the man sought to return to the plane with the victim accompanying him.
While they were on the aerobridge, the victim asked Burridge if he would like to offload himself or continue with his flight.
Burridge was again angered and kicked a wall panel of the aerobridge, causing it to break. It cost S$1,622.51 to repair the damage to the aerobridge, according to court documents.
The victim's colleague then called for police assistance.
After Burridge reboarded the plane, he found his phone under his seat. Police officers subsequently asked him to get off the plane to assist with investigations and the flight took off from Singapore without delay.
The prosecution sought a fine of between S$4,000 and S$6,000, given that the offences occurred at Changi Airport, which is a key transportation hub for Singapore.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Tan Jun Ya said: "Airports rely on their staff to ensure that flights leave and arrive on time, and that passengers are safely ushered to and from their flights. It goes without saying that airport staff are entitled to a safe workplace, free from abuse by passengers."
On the harassment charge, Ms Tan said the words used were "abusive, insulting and highly disrespectful".
"While the accused may have been angry that he had lost his phone, this is by no means an excuse for his behaviour," she said.
It was also highlighted that for the mischief charge, the damage caused was not insubstantial.
The prosecution, however, noted that Burridge pleaded guilty at the first opportunity and intended to make full restitution.
"In the circumstances, we accept that the custodial threshold is not crossed," the prosecution said.
Burridge was fined S$2,500 for each of his charges. He paid the fine in full.
