Actor arrested at Changi Airport for allegedly molesting stewardess
Tuo Chung-hua also caused drunken ruckus on S'pore-bound flight, spat and hurled vulgarities at other passengers
Taiwanese actor Tuo Chung-hua was arrested on Friday evening after he allegedly molested a flight attendant while on board a China Airlines flight from Taipei to Singapore.
Spitting and hurling vulgarities at fellow passengers and cabin crew, Mr Tuo, 56, had also caused a drunken ruckus lasting about an hour while on the plane.
According to reports by Taiwanese media, Mr Tuo, whose name is also listed as To Tsung-hua on the Internet Movie Database (IMDb), was flying business class to Singapore to shoot a project here.
The actor, who has appeared in popular movie series Yes, Sir!,and acted in 2007 film Lust, Caution, had been drinking alcohol and started to yell at the people around him.
According to entertainment publication Apple Daily News, when a male passenger confronted him, Mr Tuo reportedly hurled vulgarities at him.
Mr Tuo's outbursts were caught on video by a fellow passenger and it appeared to show him spitting at a passenger sitting across the aisle to his left.
The passenger threw a blanket at Mr Tuo and the actor did the same in retaliation.
Satellite cable news channel EBC News interviewed another passenger on the flight, who said that at one point, Mr Tuo stood in the cabin crew's work area and kept on consuming alcohol.
CRIED
The unnamed passenger said this was when he allegedly touched the buttocks of an attendant, though Mr Tuo denied it.
EBC News reported that the attendant later broke down, covering her face while she cried.
Police told The New Paper yesterday that they were alerted at about 7pm on Friday to a case of outrage of modesty which took place on board a flight bound for Singapore.
When the plane landed at Changi Airport, a 56-year-old man was arrested in relation to the case and police are investigating the incident.
It is not clear if Mr Tuo is currently out on bail, but he recorded two apology videos on Saturday.
In one 50-second video, he acknowledged that he had done some things which may have affected other people on the flight, explaining that he was just too happy as Chinese New Year was approaching.
Mr Tuo said in Mandarin: "I may have had a little too much to drink. This behaviour is really unacceptable.
"I hereby apologise to those I have affected. I am really sorry. I did not have any ill intention of harassing you all. I hope she can forgive me."
Apple Daily later reported that China Airlines confirmed a passenger was drunk on the flight, and that the captain had reported the situation to the authorities in Singapore for security reasons.
This is not the first time the actor has landed in trouble while drunk.
In 2006, Mr Tuo also had too much to drink while on a flight and made a scene after landing at Taoyuan airport.
In 2012, his ex-wife reported him to the police after he allegedly slapped her and wrung her neck while intoxicated.
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