Airline ordered to pay damages for serving meat to vegetarian

A Malaysian court has ordered national flag-carrier Malaysia Airlines to pay an Indian man $5,700 in damages for serving him meat onboard, after he asked for a vegetarian meal, news reports said Saturday.

Arvind Sharma, 44, said he vomited after he was served chicken on a flight from Bangalore to Kuala Lumpur in March 2003, the New Straits Times said.

M. Rajalingam, a magistrate in northern Penang state, ruled that Sharma should be compensated for the depression, shock, mental anguish and humiliation he suffered, the newspaper said.

Sharma is a member of the priestly Brahmin caste who said he had never eaten meat in his life and the airline's negligence caused Sharma a "blemish in his code of conduct," it quoted the judge as saying.

Malaysia Airlines officials could not be reached for comment Saturday.

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