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SCMP Reporter

A British construction engineer involved in the glass industry claims he swallowed pieces of glass as big as five-carat diamonds when he drank a cup of pineapple juice during a flight from Bangkok to Hong Kong.

Stephen Graham Olding, 48, is seeking more than $350,000 in damages from Singapore Airlines.

The District Court heard yesterday that he felt so sick after allegedly swallowing glass that he had to cancel a major contract.

The company denies Mr Olding's allegations.

Mr Olding, who is representing himself, told Judge Ian Carlson that he boarded the Singapore Airlines flight to Hong Kong on September 26, 2000, with his secretary, Cecilia Choi. He was travelling to Hong Kong for a substantial business deal involving glass supply.

Ms Choi was served a cup of pineapple juice during the flight, but after she drank half of it Mr Olding consumed the rest.

Mr Olding said that as he drank the juice he felt 'a couple of lumps', which he thought were pineapple pieces, but looking into the cup he saw glass fragments the size of five-carat diamonds.

Lawyer Neville Watkins, for the airline, asked Mr Olding how he could be certain the fragments were glass.

'I put it to you that the remains in the cup were in fact ice. Do you agree?' asked Mr Watkins.

Mr Olding said he had felt the fragments and was sure they were glass, not ice. He added that he had summoned a cabin steward, who looked stunned after touching the fragments himself. The steward took away the cup and the fragments, Mr Olding said.

The engineer admitted he did not see what he had swallowed, but believed it was glass after observing what remained in the cup.

Mr Olding told the court he did not feel unwell on the flight, but suffered a stomach ache the next day. He said he suspected that fragments of glass were to blame and went to Tang Shiu Kin Hospital on September 28. An X-ray did not show abnormalities.

Mr Olding alleges the airline did not take adequate care preparing the drinks. The amount he is claiming is mainly for business expenses and loss of income.

He told the court that last year he had switched his work base from Australia, where he had been staying for 20 years, to Hong Kong. The hearing was adjourned until June 12.



Airline served glass fragments in juice, engineer claims