I'm a very sick man.

Provided by 7DAYS.ae

A Briton accused of claiming he was going to blow up a plane on its way to Dubai said yesterday he had suffered with psychological problems in the past.The 37-year-old, who denies making the threat but admits to being drunk, told a court yesterday: "I have a bad history with alcohol. I have suffered from a psychological disease so when I drank a lot I had a panic attack."According to court records, on July 9 the defendant was on Emirates flight EK20 from Manchester to Dubai.According to witnesses, as the plane prepared to land he made his bomb threat."A female passenger came to me shaking and scared and told me that he had told her there was a bomb on the plane that would explode within seven minutes," a Lebanese air stewardess said. "I went to him and found him holding two mobile phones. He was pushing the buttons and saying the bomb would explode."When she told him he was scaring the other passengers, the defendant is alleged to have said he was only joking.An Emirates official said at the time: "The captain immediately alerted the department of Civil Aviation who took charge of the situation. Police evacuated all the passengers and searched the plane but found nothing."An eyewitness added: "Baggage was thoroughly checked and there were a lot of airport security and the police were guarding the place."Salim Mohammad Al Qaidi, the senior public prosecutor, said the defendant had tested positive for two different types of drugs and banned substances, although he is not facing any charges relating to this.The suspect asked for the case to be delayed so he could produce medical records to back up his claims but the judge refused and a verdict will be issued later this month. He remains in police custody.ali.shouk@7days.ae

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