Story By: John Feng, Sub Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Asia Wire Report

Video Credit: AsiaWire

This is the moment an airport security officer busts a first-time flyer who tries to bring a lighter – which is banned in China – onboard for a cigarette by hiding it inside his mouth.

Lighters are banned on flights in China so the middle-aged male passenger named only as Mr Quan came up with the alternate plan when he had to put his luggage through an X-ray scanner before boarding the flight on 16th October.

Footage from Shenyang Taoxian International Airport, which is in the capital of north-eastern China’s Liaoning Province, shows Mr Quan spreading his arms as a female officer checks him for metal objects.

But the alert officer notices Mr Quan’s bulging mouth and points to it, catching the first-time flyer off guard.

Under repeatedly questioning, Mr Quan spits out the lighter, which is then handed to other officers nearby.

He was removed from China Southern Airlines Flight 3656, bound for Nanjing, capital of Jiangsu province in East China, and detained for the offence.

Police officer Li Cheng said: “It was his first time flying. He thought by hiding the lighter in his mouth he could evade our security officers.

“When the officer noticed his bulging mouth, he lied and said he had lost a tooth.”

Mr Quan told the police he was a long-time smoking addict, and that he would not be able to make it through the two-hour flight without a cigarette, so he tried to smuggle his lighter on board.

Mr Quan was fined 1,000 RMB (110 GBP) for the attempted smuggling of a prohibited item, but he is not believed to have been given a flying ban for the first-time offence.

His lighter was confiscated.

Lighters and matches are banned on flights in China, along with other items such as teargas and handcuffs, while smoking is banned on almost all airlines worldwide.

The ViralTab page is created by and dedicated to professional, independent freelance journalists. It is a place for us to showcase our work. When our news is sold to our media partners, we will include the link here.