A Sri Lankan man, who threatened to set off a bomb on a Malaysia Airlines flight has pleaded guilty in an Australian court of attempting to take control of the aircraft.
Manodh Marks, a 25-year-old catering student, had tried to enter the cockpit while making the bomb threat mid-air on the Melbourne to Kuala Lumpur flight in May, forcing the aircraft to turn back.
Marks pleaded guilty in the Melbourne Magistrates Court on Friday in a plea deal, according to Australian Associated Press.
The charge carries a maximum of 20 years in jail.
Police said that Marks had been released from psychiatric care on the same day he bought a ticket and boarded the flight.
Malaysia Airlines flight MH128 was carrying 337 passengers. Marks was overpowered by passengers, who tied him up with belts. He had been holding what the police later said was a “speaker-type” object.
In the plea deal, the prosecutors threw out several serious charges, including an attempt to hijack an aircraft and threatening to detonate an explosive, which carry a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.
Marks has been remanded in custody and the case had been adjourned to April. (dpa/NAN)
