Are Pilots Trapped & Targeted by Aussie Customs? What is "objectionable" or "abhorrent" pornography? Bringing Porn material is not an offence

Are Pilots Trapped & Targeted by “Australian Customs? What is "objectionable" or "abhorrent" pornography? Bringing Pornoraphic material into Australia is not an offence. Mas Co-pilot fined A$6000 and SIA pilot fined A$12,000 Another one to fine

UPDATE: Friday February 15, 2008 – What a poor showing 1 year only 19, less that 2 a month. Just for show that they are doing it.The internet gateway is still widely open.
Porn crackdown at Aussie airports nets 19

THE crackdown on porn at Australian airports which resulted in the arrest of a Singapore Airlines pilot last Saturday, has netted 19 people since January last year. Two others – another Singaporean and a Malaysian Airlines pilot – were also arrested in the last one week. The crackdown appears to be confined to Australia, although arrests have been made from time to time elsewhere.
On Tuesday, for example, Italian police arrested a 55-year-old university professor after he stepped off a plane from Bangkok at Rome's Leonardo da Vinci airport. The arrest was part of a country-wide crackdown on child pornography. In Dubai last November, a British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) deejay was arrested for allegedly carrying pornographic DVDs into the country.

The Australian action appears to be a concerted effort aimed at stopping the smuggling of pornography into the country via Adelaide, according to a statement on the country's Customs website. The website quoted Australian Customs national manager of investigations, Richard Janeczko, as saying the department was seeing an increase in interceptions of objectionable pornography at the border. Meanwhile, the SIA pilot at the centre of the porn storm, Captain Ng Kok Yauw, has arrived back in Singapore. The father of two has been suspended by the airline pending investigations. He was charged by Australian authorities on Monday and fined A$12,000 (RM35,000). He pleaded guilty and paid the fine. – The Straits Times / Asia News Network

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Are pilots specifically targeted when arriving in Australia? There are only scores of them arriving daily bringing in thousand of airline passengers. It is reported that it is normal” for passengers to be asked to turn on their laptops to prove that they are working, it is not often that airport officials would check files and other documents”. To scan through the computer files of passengers would make airline traveling a big harassment for those who need to carry their laptops around.
So when the Pilots the last to leave the planes sauntered in through the customs they were targeted for a “slow check”. Literally they were trapped when they were ask if they have anything to declare. Probably they were aware that porn materials are allowed and when asked they would replied they have “nothing” to declare. And when customs scanned and found the "objectionable" or "abhorrent" child porn they were charged with importing & false statement and not in possession of them.

They should be more specific and ask "Any child porn in the laptops?. If so delete them" The severity of the punishment is apparently based on the number of the offensive video clips. One wonders if the “holier-than-thou” Aussies are also censoring the Internet on downloading such stuff to corrupt more of their kind.
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Feb 13, 2008

SIA pilot with porn in laptop fined in Australia

He is the third person to be arrested in less than a week in Aussie crackdown on smut
By Karamjit Kaur, Aviation Correspondent, asiaonline

A SINGAPORE Airlines (SIA) pilot caught with pornographic material in his personal computer at the Adelaide International Airport on Saturday has been fined A$12,000 (S$15,000). Captain Ng Kok Yauw, a 41-year-old Malaysian, is the third person arrested by the Australian Customs Service in less than a week, amid a crackdown on attempts to bring pornography into the country through the southern Australian city. The other two arrested are a 41-year-old Singaporean, whose identity is not known, and Mr Ahmad Said, 23, a Malaysia Airlines (MAS) co-pilot. The Singaporean, who has been similarly charged, will be back in an Adelaide magistrate's court on Feb 25. The MAS pilot was reported in Malaysian media to have been fined A$6,000. He has been suspended from flying pending an MAS inquiry.

He was caught with three video files, including one believed to involve child pornography, in his laptop. His lawyer told the Australian court that his client had been sent an e-mail containing the files and had not deleted them or shown them to anyone else. As for Capt Ng, a spokesman for the Australian Customs told The Straits Times that when he was questioned by officers, he denied carrying prohibited items. But when they checked his laptop, they found 'objectionable material depicting abhorrent sexual acts'. The spokesman said all people entering Australia, be they pilots, cabin crew or regular passengers, are subject to the same checks, and will be dealt with if caught carrying prohibited items.

Offences involving objectionable pornography carry fines of up to A$110,000; if child pornography is involved, the fine can go up to A$275,000, and the jail term up to 10 years.

Dr John Harrison, an aviation security expert with the International Centre for Political Violence and Terrorism Research at the Nanyang Technological University, said that while it is common for passengers to be asked to turn on their laptops to prove that they are working, it is not often that airport officials would check files and other documents. Capt Ng, who was charged in court on Monday, is due home in a few days.

SIA spokesman Stephen Forshaw said in response to queries: 'The captain involved will not be flying until our flight operations management have had the opportunity to speak to him directly about this matter and make an assessment.' Pilots The Straits Times spoke to said Capt Ng is married with at least one child. A senior SIA pilot, who did not want to be named, said he is 'a nice chap and a regular family man, not the wild flamboyant sort. It is a shame that this has happened'.

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Feb 13, 2008

SIA pilot fined for porn had 7 videos showing rape, child sex

SEVEN video files were found on the personal computer of a Singapore Airlines (SIA) pilot who was fined A$12,000 for trying to bring child pornography into Australia, court documents showed on Wednesday. Some of the videos contained footage of rape, sexual violence and children engaged in sexual activity, the documents said.

Captain Ng Kok Yauw, 41, a Malaysian, piloted a Singapore Airlines flight last Saturday from Singapore to Adelaide, Australia, when customs officials searched his laptop and found video clips of child pornography, Adelaide court documents seen by Reuters said. Ng, who appeared in court on Monday, pleaded guilty to charges of importing banned material and making a false statement to a customs officer. He could not be reached for comment but Singapore Airlines, the world's second-largest airline by market value, said the airline was conducting its own investigation. He was the third person arrested by Australian Customs Service in less than a week, in the wake of a crackdown on attempts to bring pornography into the country. The other two arrested are a 41-year-old Singaporean, who has been similarly charged, and Mr Ahmad Said, 23, a Malaysia Airlines (MAS) co-pilot, who was fined A$6,000. Mr Ahmad has been suspended from flying pending an MAS inquiry. The Singaporean will be charged in an Adelaide magistrate's court on Feb 25. The maximum sentence in Australia for offences involving child pornography is a fine of A$275,000 and 10 years imprisonment.

While it is not an offence to bring pornographic material into Australia, an Australian customs spokeswoman said it was a crime to bring in 'objectionable' or 'abhorrent' pornography into the country. This would include materials that 'offend against the standards of morality, decency and propriety generally accepted by reasonable adults', the spokeswoman said. -- REUTERS

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Thursday February 14, 2008; STAR
Aussies fine SIA pilot caught with porn RM33,000

SINGAPORE: A Singapore Airlines (SIA) pilot caught with pornographic material at Adelaide International Airport last Saturday has been charged and fined A$12,000 (RM33,500) by Australian authorities.
Captain Ng Kok Yauw, 41, a Malaysian national, was the third person arrested by the Australian Customs Service in less than a week as part of a crackdown on attempts to smuggle pornography into the country through Adelaide.

The other two cases involved a 41-year-old Singaporean whose identity is not known and another Malaysian – 23-year-old Ahmad Said, a co-pilot with Malaysia Airlines (MAS).

Australian media reported over the weekend that the MAS pilot was fined A$6,000 (7,760), while the Singaporean will appear again in Adelaide magistrate's court on Feb 25. A spokesman for Australian Customs told The Straits Times that when Capt Ng was stopped and questioned by officers, he denied carrying any prohibited items.
But when they checked his laptop, they found “objectionable material depicting abhorrent sexual acts.” – The Straits Times / ANN

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February 13, 2008 20:38 PM

Singapore Pilot Fined A$12,000 Over Child Porn Import Bid

MELBOURNE, Feb 13 (Bernama) -- A Singapore Airlines pilot has been fined A$12,000 for trying to bring child pornography into Australia, court documents showed.A newspaper website reported that Ng Kok Yauw, 40, captained a Singapore Airlines flight last Saturday from the city-state to Adelaide and when Customs officials searched his laptop they found video clips of child pornography. Ng, who appeared in court on Monday, pleaded guilty to charges of importing banned material and making a false statement to a Customs officer.

Singapore Airlines said the airline was conducting its own investigation. Seven video files were found on Ng's computer, some of which contained footage of rape, sexual violence and children engaged in sexual activity, the court documents said.The maximum sentence in Australia for offences involving child pornography is a fine of A$275,000 and 10 years imprisonment.

While it is not an offence to bring pornographic material into Australia, an Australian Customs spokeswoman told "The Australian Online it was a crime to bring in "objectionable" or "abhorrent" pornography into the country.

This would include materials that "offend against the standards of morality, decency and propriety generally accepted by reasonable adults", the spokeswoman was quoted as saying. The pilot was one of three men, including a Malaysian Airline pilot, caught last week by Custom officials for importing "offensive" pornography.

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Tuesday February 12, 2008; ‘Porn pilot’ ‘under probe

By TEH ENG HOCK, STAR

PETALING JAYA: The Malaysia Airlines (MAS) pilot, who was caught and fined for importing child pornography in Adelaide, has been relieved of flying duties to facilitate an internal enquiry by the national carrier. In a statement, MAS group human resources senior general manager Effendi Abdul Rahman said: “We are first conducting an internal enquiry into this matter. Based on the findings, any further action taken will be in accordance with the MoU between Malaysia Airlines and the Malaysia Airlines Pilots Association (MAPA).” The pilot, who was identified by Australian news portals ABC News and the Adelaide Advertiser as Ahmad Said, 25, was arrested by Customs officers at the Adelaide International Airport last Thursday after they found three video files containing child pornography in his laptop. ABC News said that when the pilot arrived at the airport, he told them he did not have anything to declare. But when Customs officers searched his laptop, they found the child video files. The Adelaide Advertiser reported that the videos were titled “Reped Virgin”, “10-Year Old” and “High School Students.” His lawyer told the court that Ahmad had been e-mailed the video files and had not shown them to anyone else. “He was simply reckless, this was not material brought in to be disseminated,” lawyer Stephen Barratt had told the Adelaide court.

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Child porn pilot convicted

Article from: The Advertiser; ANDREW DOWDELL, COURT REPORTER

February 08, 2008 03:01pm

A MALAYSIAN Airlines co-pilot has been convicted and fined for bringing child pornography into the country on his personal computer. Ahmad Said appeared handcuffed in Adelaide Magistrates Court today on a charge of importing a prohibited item. Customs officers arrested the 25-year old at Adelaide International Airport yesterday, after finding three video files containing child pornography. The videos were titled ``Reped (sic) Virgin'', ``10-Year Old'' and ``High School Students.'' ``This material is repugnant and abhorrent - any decent minded person would be so affected by it,'' Magistrate Simon Smart said. Mr Smart said the rape scene featured a crying girl aged under 18 being forced to have sex with an older male. ``These are not victimless crimes - for every video that depicts such a scene there is a victim,'' he said. Said's computer was searched after he flew into Adelaide as co-pilot on a Malaysian Airlines flight from Kuala Lumpur.

His lawyer Stephen Barratt said Said had been e-mailed the video files and had not shown anyone else. ``He was simply reckless, this was not material brought in to be disseminated,'' Mr Barratt said. Mr Smart rejected the defence assertion that Said had ``no interest'' in the pornography, saying there would be no market for such images without people like him. Mr Barratt said the conviction could ruin Said's career as a pilot at Malaysian Airlines after rising rapidly through the ranks in the past few years. ``The result of this conviction ... could alter the whole of his life and his family,'' Mr Barratt said.
Mr Barratt said Said's arrest and detention in custody for almost 24 hours was ``fairly harsh.'' ``He has suffered from being kept overnight in custody and now sits before the court manacled, which he describes to me as one of the lowest points of his life,'' Mr Barratt said. Magistrate Smart fined Said $5,000 and ordered that his laptop be forfeited to the Crown.

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Visiting pilot fined over child porn

Posted Fri Feb 8, 2008 4:15pm AEDT
A Malaysian Airlines pilot arriving in Adelaide was found to have child sex videos on his laptop computer. A Malaysia Airlines pilot who was caught importing child pornography to Australia yesterday has faced court. When Ahmad Said, 25, arrived at Adelaide Airport yesterday he said he did not have anything to declare. But customs officers searched his laptop and found child sex videos. A handcuffed Said has faced court.
Magistrate Simon Smart told him the videos were cruel and violent and it was a disgrace that the married father of two had brought the material to Australia.
The magistrate said people like Said encouraged the market for child pornography. Said, whose wife is expecting their third child, was fined $6,000.
He left court with a jumper over his head because of television camera crews.

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Two arrested on unrelated porn charges
February 8, 2008 - 11:12AM

Advertisement. Two men have been charged with importing pornography after unrelated incidents at Adelaide airport.
Australian Customs said on Wednesday this week a 41-year-old man from Singapore was found to have objectionable material involving sex acts on a laptop computer and a portable flash drive. He is due to appear in the Adelaide Magistrates Court on February 25 on a charge of importing pornography. In the second arrest, a 23-year-old man from Malaysia was arrested after customs investigators found objectionable material on a laptop.

He was expected to appear in the Adelaide Magistrates Court.
Customs national manager of investigations Richard Janeczko said officials were seeing an increase in attempts to bring pornographic material into Australia. "Customs has a responsibility to protect the Australian community by intercepting, investigating and prosecuting smuggling of offensive pornographic material and we take that role very seriously," he said.

The two men arrested face maximum penalties of 10 years in jail.

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