T

he Consulate General of Malaysia in Medan, North Sumatra, announced on Tuesday that it had closed the assault and spitting case committed by an Indonesian passenger against a male flight attendant with Malaysian Airlines.

Malaysian Consul General Noor Azhar Hajis said the case had been settled amicably out of court by both disputing parties.

'€œThe case is closed. The Malaysia Airlines management has forgiven the offense committed by the passenger against the flight attendant,'€ Noor told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.

An Indonesian passenger with the initials MA hit and spat at a Malaysia Airlines flight attendant named Jessi as the plane arrived at Polonia International Airport in Medan on June 17. As a result, the plane'€™s captain, Kamarul Amin, delayed the return flight to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Kamarul then reported the incident to security and immigration officers at the airport.

He said had the flight attendant only been hit, perhaps the incident would have been allowed to pass. But, as the assault was followed by the passenger spitting, the humiliation was too great.

'€œWe couldn'€™t accept that ill-treatment; it was very demeaning to us,'€ Kamarul said when he reported the incident at Polonia airport.

Jessi'€™s colleague, Fitri Abdullah, said the incident took place as the plane was about to land. Members of the in-flight crew asked the passengers to return their seats to an upright position. However, one passenger, added Fitri, did not heed the instruction but instead hit and spat at the victim.

Polonia airport police chief First Insp. Saut Sihombing said the atmosphere was tense at first because both sides refused to be blamed.

However, after a dialogue, which was also attended by officials from the Malaysian Consulate General, the case was eventually resolved amicably. '€œThey have made peace. The two sides have forgiven each other,'€ Sihombing said.

When commenting on the incident, MA, 29, a Medan resident, admitted that he spat at the victim, but said it was a spontaneous reaction as he was disappointed by the attitude of the victim.

'€œHe rudely pointed and asked me to put my seat in an upright position. He should have been more polite. I was annoyed, so I spat at him,'€ MA said.