The authorities at the Cam Ranh International Airport have denied that its staff members beat Chinese passengers during a flight delay and declined to comment on whether or not the conflict was caused by the airline demanding tips from the passengers.

Earlier reports claimed that on Monday several Chinese passengers were purposefully given difficult treatment by customs officers at the Cam Ranh International Airport, at the Nha Trang tourist resort in southern Vietnam, because they refused to tip the staff members. The situation later escalated into physical conflict.

An anonymous Vietnamese guide told the press that the so-called "tip" actually amounted to the demanding of bribes and was an illegal act of corruption.

The airport's director Phan Le Hoan told Vietnamese media Thanh Nien (Youth) that a Vietnam Airlines flight to Shanghai was delayed by three hours, causing several passengers to lose their temper. Phan said that a Chinese passenger flung himself at a security officer and tried to grab a "work tool" from the officer, forcing the latter to pull it back.

Phan added that the security officers asked the Chinese passengers to calm down by using hand gestures due to language barrier. He insisted that "there was no beating of any passenger," but said that it was "unclear" whether any bribe money was taken.

Although online reports generally claimed the incident did not involve much violence, one photo does show law enforcement officers with stun guns rush over, and one woman said her husband, who was filming the confrontation, was struck in the back.

The Chinese embassy in Vietnam said all passengers involved in the incident have returned home, and no one was detained by the Vietnamese authorities.

Related

• Chinese tourists' outrage over flight delay in Bangkok
• China lifts flight delay alert

Go to Forum >>0 Comment(s)