Millie Jepkemboi Omonei: Woman who assaulted flight attendant in ‘incoherent’ flight disruption spared jail

A 52-year-old Kenyan woman who attacked a flight attendant on a Qantas flight from Canberra to Perth has been spared jail. Millie Jepkemboi Omonei claimed she drank three glasses of wine before boarding the plane on December 13 and could not recall the mayhem that unfolded. Perth Magistrates Court was told on Friday that Omonei’s bizarre behaviour included trying to grab the newspaper off a fellow passenger’s lap, swearing and scratching the arm of the cabin crew member. She also grabbed the victim’s head with both hands and turned it “in a forceful manner”, rambled incoherently and showed a lack of bodily coordination. And when Australian Federal Police approached her after landing, she was belligerent and argumentative, “raising her arms in an aggressive manner” and continuing to carry on after being arrested. There were concerns for her mental health. “She remembers arriving at the airport and being discharged from hospital in Midland,” Omonei’s defence counsel told the court. “The behaviour described is just simply not appropriate.” Magistrate Phil Urquhart replied: “That’s something of an understatement”. The lawyer said his client had been emotional as the trip was one she had planned with her husband, a diplomat who died in 2020. She had intended to sleep after drinking but “unfortunately that didn’t happen”. The lawyer explained that Omonei had “no ill will towards flight attendants and Qantas”, having worked as a travel coordinator and jetting about extensively before retiring. He added that she had been banned from flying on the airline for 12 months and was left “deeply shocked and embarrassed”. Mr Urquhart credited her for quitting drinking and seeing a psychologist, who had referred her to a psychiatrist. “It’s not entirely clear as to why you were behaving in this manner,” he said. “This sort of conduct on planes must be roundly condemned by the court. “It is simply not acceptable. “Crew members should never ever be subjected to any physical violence by a passenger.” The magistrate noted the flight attendant had been left traumatised by her ordeal and the Commonwealth prosecutor had been compassionate in not calling for any term of imprisonment, suspended or immediate. He placed Omonei on a $2000 recognisance to be of good behaviour for one year for the assault and fined her $1500 for the disorderly conduct. Mr Urquhart warned her that she would not be dealt with as leniently if she repeated it. “I hope we don’t see you back here again,” he concluded.