Italian spared jail after writing ‘attention ebola’ on coffee cup

An Italian businessman has been spared jail for making a joke about the ebola virus to his daughter on an Aer Lingus flight.

Judge Anthony Halpin said that, given the seriousness of the ebola virus, Mr Binaschi’s prank was a “sick joke” and comparable to a bomb scare.

However, he noted that Mr Binaschi was apologetic and had offered to pay €2,500 to charity. Judge Halpin directed that the money should go to the Capuchin Day Centre, which helps homeless people in inner-city Dublin, and he applied section 11 of the Probation Offenders Act.