The Gist During a flight between Bangkok and Taiwan, a rat and an otter escaped from luggage, causing a wave of panic on the plane. The two animals were recovered by the police: the owner of the animals faces a fine of almost 30,000 euros.
Undoubtedly, passengers on the Viet Jet airline’s Bangkok-Taiwan flight will remember their eventful journey for a long time. This Wednesday, October 4th, an otter and a rat escaped from a piece of luggage: the two undeclared animals then slipped under the seats. “I came back from the toilet and my friend whispered to me that there was a rat on the plane,” said one passenger. “I was confused, so he repeated ‘a pet rat, a pet rat,’ he has a white body and…” He’s not small. I informed the cabin crew.”
Viet Jet Company teams jumped into action and began searching for the rodent. The latter are not yet at the end of their surprises when they come across… a “big otter” stationed under a seat, as our colleagues at Le Parisien explain. It takes the crew several minutes to capture the animal and finally starts looking for the white rat under the frightened looks of the passengers. “They continued to look for the white rat and a staff member caught it. She bit her hand as she was taking her back to the kitchen at the back of the plane,” the witness to the scene continues.
A fine of 30,000 euros
A passenger of Chinese nationality subsequently told authorities that the animals belonged to her and that she had purchased them at a market in Thailand and then stowed them in her luggage. On the same flight, police also found 28 turtles, a snake, a marmot, two otters and two other rodents in another bag. All were cared for by Taiwanese airport teams.
The passenger was arrested and faces a fine of almost 30,000 euros. An investigation has also been launched to find out how she managed to get past security at Bangkok Airport with so many animals in her luggage.