Yunan official's tantrum caught on camera
Staff Reporter 2013-02-28 12:56
Yunnan official Yan Kunlin's violent behavior caught on security footage. (Internet photo)
The tantrum Yan Linkun — a party member of Yunnan province and vice chairman of a local mining group — threw at an airport was caught on camera and broadcast on US television network CBS.
The official, a woman and two teenage boys — who appear to be his family — went to Kunming Changshui International Airport for a flight to Guangzhou on Feb. 19. While waiting for departure, they sat down for breakfast and ate right through their boarding time. After rescheduling their flight to 1pm, they again failed to make the flight and were stopped before the boarding gate, according to the Taiwan-based Broadcasting Corporation of China.
Yan became angry because his children were to start attending school in Shenzhen. As his frustration boiled over, he shouted at airport staff and then began trashing the computers and keyboard on the counter beside the gate. He tore off a sign and finally smashed the glass barring him from the boarding gate before his rage ended.
He was heavily criticized after the video footage of his outrage was posted online. CBS broadcast the footage and its hosts could not refrain from asking why the security guards at the scene did not do anything nor try to stop Yan, according to Broadcasting Corporation of China.
The official has apologized to the airport and promised to compensate for the damages he caused. He has been suspended from his position by the mining company and the local police are considering pressing criminal charges against him.
