[Watch] MH318: Alleged Groping By Chinese Tourist, Angry Passengers, And A Delayed Departure

The passenger claimed he had only “lightly tapped” her, and even invoked China-Malaysia diplomatic relations to justify his behaviour — neither argument landed.

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A Chinese tourist was removed from Malaysia Airlines flight MH318 after allegedly slapping a flight attendant on the buttocks before the aircraft departed from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing shortly after midnight on Thursday (8 April).

In footage circulating online, the man can be heard defending himself in Mandarin — insisting he had only “lightly tapped” the attendant twice and did not consider it physical aggression.

He also asked for the aircraft’s CCTV footage to be reviewed to support his account.

His explanation was not accepted.

The crew deemed him too disruptive to remain on board, and security officers were called in to escort him off the plane.

Flight MH318 departed around 12.41 am — roughly an hour behind its scheduled 11.40 pm departure.

A Boarding Process Already on Edge

What the viral clip does not show is what came before it.

Duncan Ye, a Malaysian tour group leader who was on the same flight and is said to have recorded the video, recounted on social media that the boarding process had already been fraught — a last-minute aircraft change left some passengers unable to scan their boarding passes, causing queues to form without direction, with only two ground staff managing the backlog.

Of his 20 clients, 16 passed through without issue, while four were held back and redirected to a separate counter, with less than 30 minutes to departure and no realistic way to rearrange split-up seating.

Two clients who had paid for extra-legroom seats were told the aircraft swap made it impossible to honour their booking and were directed to seek refunds themselves.

In that one moment, I was really angry. As a Malaysian, I wasn’t just angry — I was embarrassed.

His post has since been deleted, though his words have been widely reposted by others.

Diplomatic Excuse, Public Outrage

Malaysians online have since called on airport authorities and police to act.

The fact that the passenger cited the close diplomatic ties between China and Malaysia as justification for his behaviour did little to win over the crowd, online or otherwise.

If anything, it added fuel to the fire on the long-running conversation about Chinese tourist behaviour in Malaysia.

While Chinese visitors are welcomed as a key driver of tourism revenue, isolated incidents of perceived rudeness, entitlement, and disregard for local norms have repeatedly made headlines.

For many Malaysians, this latest episode is less a surprise than a familiar frustration.