Quote:
Originally Posted by Sibabarada
Excuse me captain is this a joke ... 
If you are here to kid around I am not ...
 |
Well your entire post is a joke. You talk about being 'accused' of smoking but you don't deny it as well. You talk about your 'basic humanitarian rights' to know the implications of your actions and yet you dont follow the 'basic humanitarian principles' to take responsibilities for your actions!
About the specifics in your post, there a few things you need to know:
- If you are caught in the act, the FA is NOT required to let you know about the implications. FAs are REQUIRED to follow the law and airline policies. If that means bring you a piece of paper, they do it. If you don't sign and they are required to de-plane you, they do that.
- You seem to have seen a bit too many criminal case shows (I do too). But I also know that many countries don't have a law about refusal against self-incrimination (by signing that paper, etc.)
- There is big difference between race and nationality. Further, knowing your nationality is very important from the legal perspective if you are found doing something illegal on an international flight.
- All airlines have a warning posted in the lavatory about not smoking. Most airlines (actually, all that I have been on) also mention the penalties (imprisonment and/or fine). Did you just miss it? I suspect that you were de-planed because of your refusal to sign the document (in which case, they would investigate the issue at the first port the airline lands).
- Finally, I couldn't resist arguing against this one - "even serial killers know whether they could be facing a death penalty or a life sentence". This is so NOT true. They are told that if they plead guilty, they MAY get a death penalty (in other words, the worst case scenario). Ultimately, the judge/jury decides what should be the penalty.
It's funny that all this would probably not have happened had you simply admitted to your mistake and apologized to the FA (instead of showing up aggressively). If you haven't understood it yet, it IS a big deal if you smoke on a flight.
A couple of years ago, I was on a flight where the FA caught someone smoking in the lavatory. The man apologized and was asked to pay a fine (after landing). That was the end of it. You could have been in a similar position, but you chose NOT to.