Italian ordered to pay €2,500 over Ebola claim

An Italian man arrested at Dublin Airport after "a sick joke" about Ebola has been ordered to pay €2,500 to charity to avoid a criminal conviction.

Roberto Binaschi, 56, with an address in Milan, wrote the words "Attenzione Ebola" on the lid of a disposable coffee cup as a joke with his daughter while on board the flight from Milan to Dublin yesterday.

The cup was disposed of in the usual way but cabin crew spotted the wording on the lid, sparking an alert, which resulted in his arrest.

At Dublin District Court this morning, Mr Binaschi apologised and said he never intended to cause concern.

The court was told Mr Binaschi was on a flight from Milan with his wife and daughter to attend a conference in Dublin.

His daughter had ordered a coffee and he took a sip from the cup first. She told him his germs were on the coffee cup and as a joke he wrote "Attenzione Ebola" on the lid.

His daughter then finished the coffee and the cup was disposed of.

When a member of the cabin crew spotted the words, Mr Binaschi was asked if he had written them and he said yes.

The court was told his wife was sitting with them and was not even aware of the joke. At no time was the cup or lid exposed to anyone else on the plane.

Judge Anthony Halpin said he could not think of a more serious offence given the present day fear of Ebola.

He said it was like writing on a napkin that there is a bomb on the plane. "He was over international waters on an international flight, that is how serious it is".

However, after hearing evidence from the defendant, who said he now realised the anxiety he had caused after what was a private joke with his daughter, the judge said it did not warrant a prison sentence.

He said he took into account that the flight was not in the "geo plane" of where Ebola is at the minute.

Judge Halpin also said Mr Binaschi was disposing of the cup rather than bringing it to the attention of the cabin crew, which was a factor that had to be taken in to consideration.

"It cannot be described as anything but a sick joke," the judge said.

He ordered Mr Binaschi to pay €2,500 to the Capuchin Friary in Bow Street in Dublin and applied the Probation Act.

Mr Binaschi had pleaded guilty to using threatening, abusive or insulting behaviour on board an aircraft.

The charge is under the Air Navigation and Transport Act and if convicted he could have been fined or jailed.

The man's solicitor, Michelle Finan, said Mr Binaschi was a company director coming to Dublin to attend a conference and was "here trying to create jobs".

Others attending the conference had "bunched together" to collect €2,500, which was the sum ordered by the judge to be given to charity.

She said he was very anxious that people would not think he had tried to cause any alarm and was anxious to apologise to Aer Lingus and to gardaí.

In his evidence to the court this morning, Mr Binaschi explained what had happened and said, through an interpreter: "We were on the plane and were quite jolly.

"My daughter ordered a cup of coffee and I drank from it before she did. Knowing the fact that she is quite keen on cleanliness, I took one of the pens she was using to study and wrote that sentence and I put the cup in front of her.

"When the coffee was finished I gave the cup to the hostess to throw it away. That was 20 minutes before landing.

"A few minutes after a steward returned - and it is to be said we were in the front row of the plane so they could see what we were doing and hear what we were saying at all times - and the steward said what was written and I told him and he asked if that was mine and I said yes and he smiled. That was what happened.

"I now clearly realise that never again in my life will I treat such a subject with such a superficial attitude within a public space even less so on public transport.

"I am fully conscious I made a big mistake, I don't know how to apologise."

The judge said he had "learned his lesson, he looks visibly upset".

However, he said he had to stress "how serious it was and send out a message that we don't want other people doing it".

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