Even if he does not know how to read or write, 61-year-old farmer Xu Miaoqing had an informal, but very expensive lesson while traveling on Christmas day to Bangkok from mainland China.

The costly lesson was that smoking is not allowed inside planes, even in the toilet. For breaching aviation safety rules, Xu was fined by the Tsuen Wan Court in Hong Kong £170 (HK$2,000), reports Daily Mail.

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Unfortunately, that was just the tip of the iceberg because the illiterate farmer whose smoking inside the toilet aboard Cathay Pacific Flight CX708 triggered an alarm, had his travel documents confiscated in Hong Kong. He also had to attend court hearings and pay for his stay in Hong Kong, costing him one-fourth of his annual income.

It was ironic because Xu did not spend a single yuan for his plane ticket since the trip was a gift from his niece.

Of course, Xu's travails pale in comparison to Heather Cho, the former vice president of Korean Air, who probably had smoke coming out from her ears in anger over being served macadamia nuts in a plastic bag instead of on a plate while aboard a flight from New York to Tokyo in December. The whole spectacle cost the airlines heiress her job and freedom as well.

Despite her apology, Cho was arrested and is now detained in a prison in Seoul for compromising air safety when she ordered the purser, who served her the nuts, off the plane even if the aircraft was about to take off.

TagsChinese farmer, illiterate farmer, free flight, Cathay Pacific, No Smoking, Xu Miaoqing