The Sydney Morning Herald said defence lawyer Tessa Dunsford told the Magistrate’s Court in Melbourne that 25-year-old Manodh Marks, who is a Sri Lankan national, was concerned about his safety in custody due to “his age and appearance”.
Magistrate Suzanne Cameron had also raised “security concerns”, the report said.
Marks was arrested yesterday after causing a bomb scare on board MAS flight MH128 which was flying from Melbourne to Kuala Lumpur.
Passengers on the flight said they feared for their lives when he rushed towards the cockpit shouting that he wanted to “blow the plane up”. However, the device he claimed was an explosive turned out to be a speaker.
He was quickly overpowered by the crew and other passengers who wrestled him to the floor and tied him up before the plane made an emergency landing at Melbourne Airport.
Armed officers from an elite police unit then boarded the flight, handcuffing him and escorting him off the plane.
The flight which left Melbourne Airport at 11.11pm was to arrive in Kuala Lumpur at 5.28am today. However, it was rescheduled following the incident and is expected to arrive at KLIA after 2am tonight (local time).
It was carrying 337 passengers at the time.
Australian police said Marks had just been released from psychiatric care and boarded the plane hours later.
“He had been released from psychiatric care (on Wednesday), and from there we believe he had purchased a ticket on this plane… and then got out to the airport and on that plane,” Victoria state police chief Graham Ashton told reporters today.
Ashton said the incident was no longer being treated as possibly linked to terrorism, but instead a “case involving a mental health issue”.
Deputy Transport Minister Abdul Aziz Kaprawi said the man had appeared drunk and referred to him as “a disruptive passenger”.
Marks has reportedly been charged under the Commonwealth Crime Aviation Act of 1991 with recklessly endangering the safety of an aircraft, making threats or false statements and threatening to destroy, damage or endanger the safety of an aircraft or kill or injure anyone on board.
These offences carry a possible 10-year sentence.
SMH said Marks would be held on remand until a hearing in August.
No bail application was made.