Ten-year-old Hove boy cautioned for pointing handheld laser at police helicopter POLICE have cautioned a 10-year-old boy who pointed a handheld laser at a police helicopter. About 9pm on Tuesday, October 28, the boy aimed the laser at the helicopter while it was being used in the metropolitan area. Police cautioned the boy who admitted to the offence and seized the laser. An SA Police spokesperson said prejudicing the safe operation of an aircraft was a serious offence, which carries a maximum jail term of 14 years. "Police remind the public that pointing lasers at any aircraft can create a dangerous distraction for pilots and aircrew and threaten the safety of all on board," the spokesperson said. In 2009, former Turkish soldier Irfan Bozan, who was trained in the use of laser-guided weapons, shone a pen-like laser at the cockpit of a Qantas jet. He was given a suspended 14-month jail term on condition of a good behaviour bond. In 2007, Lanfranco Baldetti, was one of the first people in Australia to be prosecuted for shining a laser pointer at an aircraft. He pleaded guilty to prejudicing the safe operation of an aircraft and in 2008 was sentenced to two years and three months" jail, with a 10-month non-parole period. Originally published as Boy, 10, pointed laser at police chopper