Australian journalist denies that bribe was taken in name of tip at Lahore airport
LAHORE: The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) on Wednesday launched a probe into alleged bribery incident faced by Australian journalist Dennis Freedman at the Allama Iqbal International Airport Lahore.
Dennis Freedman has been covering the Pakistan Super League (PSL) and is widely regarded as a pro-Pakistani journalist who usually trolls Indian cricketers.
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The Aussie has alleged that an immigration official demanded money from him for facilitation at the airport.
In a video that the journalist tweeted with caption, “My story of corruption in Lahore,” he said he was standing in a long queue and a guy approached him and offered him to get him boarded quickly. He said he thought that his gora card was kicking in, but later it turned out that the guy wanted some money. He said he gave him Rs350. Through the video, he said, he wanted to educate. He said it would have been better if he had reported to anti-corruption authorities, which, he said, he would do next time.
“What I want is some education. I made a mistake but the best way to deal with this would have been if I had held my ground and said no,” he said adding that next time he would report such behaviour to anti-corruption authorities.
Dawn newspaper has quoted a CAA source as saying that it was a waiter at the airport lounge who asked for a tip from him for providing chips and other things.
Dennis Freedman has denied the claim of tip.
“Show me your wallet. Give me US Dollar. Any currency give me. You must have money. You rich man,” this is what Freedman claims the guy said to him.
However, he said, let the police work it out from here. He hoped it stops for everyone using that airport from now on.
