A Hong Kong-based Taiwanese pop music star was released from jail and placed in the custody of his mother yesterday, after agreeing to reimburse an airline for raucous behavior on a Taipei-bound flight on Thursday that re-routed to Anchorage to eject him into the hands of the FBI.
Ronald Cheng (
Witnesses said Cheng, who was seated in the first-class cabin, had started smoking and singing after having several glasses of spirits.
When a flight attendant asked Cheng to settle down -- after a male passenger sitting next to him complained the star had drunk too much and had been putting his hands on the passenger's body -- Cheng allegedly pulled her to the floor by her hair, starting a struggle with other passengers.
He was subdued after the pilot confronted Cheng, who allegedly tried to punch him. The pilot then hit Cheng on the head with a flashlight.
The crew used plastic handcuffs to hold Cheng in his seat until the plane reached Anchorage, where he was arrested by FBI agents.
Cheng was charged with assault and interfering with flight crew members. He was jailed in the Cook Inlet Pre-Trial Facility in Anchorage.
An FBI affidavit said the singer's blood alcohol level exceeded .3 percent soon after the incident occurred. Drug tests were also performed, but the affidavit concluded he was intoxicated by alcohol only.
The singer, who is now a US citizen, could have faced 20 years imprisonment and US$250,000 in fines if convicted of breaching US civil aviation regulations, according to reports on Thursday.
Cheng appeared Friday before a federal magistrate and agreed to pay a US$2,500 fine. The magistrate ordered him to pay restitution to the airline, though it was not immediately clear how much he would have to pay.
Cheng, from Hsinchu County, is the son of a senior executive at Universal Music. His career in music began in Hong Kong in 1996.
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