Bok flyhalf Elton Jantjies malicious damage case postponed as NPA gathers more evidence

Springbok Elton Jantjies may yet escape his Emirates airline escapades with little more than a rap on the knuckles.

National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Phindi Mjonondwane said the case against Jantjies was postponed until 3 June for further investigation.

Jantjies appeared at the Kempton Park Magistrate’s Court on Monday for allegedly acting in an unruly manner on a flight from Turkey and was charged with malicious damage to property and contravention of the Civil Aviation Act, sections 133, 135 and 136.

Section 135 essentially states any person who disrupts the safety of an aircraft or its operation, is “guilty of an offence and liable on conviction to a fine or to imprisonment not exceeding 30 years, or to both”.

Mjonondwane said: “He was arrested when the plane landed at OR Tambo International Airport, following complaints from the flight crew members about a passenger in the business class swearing at passengers and crew members.

“He also allegedly broke a TV screen and bulb when he was ordered to return to his seat after breaking a glass that cut his finger in the business class stretching area.”

If found guilty of being drunk on a plane, according to Section 135 he could earn a fine or imprisonment for a period not exceeding six months, or both.

Jantjies’ lawyer Nabeela Moola denied any allegations of gender-based violence (GBV) linked to the case, while his agent, Touch Sports’ James Adams, confirmed there was a chance the malicious damage to property case would be resolved through mediation.

Criminologist Professor Pixie du Toit said the incident had some undertones of GBV but added there was not enough evidence to say with surety.

“There could be so many other factors,” she said.

“He was on a long flight and we don’t know how much he had to drink or his state of irritability.

“My question was: if he [allegedly] knocked on that door for 10 minutes until his knuckles bled, why was he so furious?”

Du Toit said they would not have arrested Jantjies immediately if it was just a small incident.

Sports psychologist Dr Jannie Botha said no one landed in the news for a good reason.

“Everyone does the wrong things, they just don’t land in the news for it.”

Botha said public figures were under a lot of pressure.

“When you are under pressure, you tend to do things you don’t usually do. These people are under constant pressure, which changed how they handle things,” he said.

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“Looking at Oscar Pistorius, it’s the bubble they function within and a bubble they do not want to get out of. I would think an aeroplane was a safe place to get out of the bubble. I think it went two steps too far.”

Sports psychologist Theo Bezuidenhout said it was more than just celebrity status.

“There could be personal issues triggering this type of behaviour, such as the environment they find themselves in. One could trace the pressure back as far as the start of the pandemic.”

He said one would have to look at what was going on in their personal, financial and sports lives to determine the trigger.

An Emirates spokesperson confirmed “on 15 May an incident occurred on flight EK761 from Dubai to Johannesburg, whereby an unruly passenger was disruptive on board the aircraft”.

The spokesperson added that “as the matter is now under police investigation, Emirates cannot comment further on the incident”.

Section 136 of the Civil Aviation Act declares any person found guilty of interfering with a “member or staff of the Aviation Safety Investigation Board, staff of the Civil Aviation Authority or member of the Civil Aviation Authority Board” is liable on conviction to a fine or to imprisonment for a period not exceeding two years, or to both.