While waiting to board his flight Wednesday evening at Changi Airport Terminal 2, a Caucasian man suddenly abandoned his haversack and started screaming and running around.

Members of the public were appalled and reported the incident to the police immediately, Lianhe Wanbao reported yesterday.

Wanbao understands that the 36-year-old from Poland is a sailor, who was scheduled to take a Lufthansa flight at 11.05pm to Germany.

Reader Ms Lim, 27, was at Terminal 2 when the incident occurred. She quickly snapped some pictures and recorded some video footage on her handphone, then sent it to the Chinese daily.

According to Ms Lim, at around 8pm last night, the foreigner who was clad in a light green t-shirt and cream bermudas suddenly ran to the check-in counter, paced up and down, and was talking to himself loudly.

"He made funny gestures and started to do the 'duck walk' suddenly. He was also mumbling to himself as he approached the check-in counter. The counter staff were taken aback and tried to avoid him."

It was seen from the footage that the Polish man started stomping his feet and screaming at the TV screens in the terminal, oblivious to the stares of others.

Ms Lim told Wanbao, "It was like he was 'possessed'. Many passengers and staff were alarmed and called the police immediately."

She said when the police arrived, they approached the man slowly in order not to provoke him. They waited till he was more emotionally stable before ten police officers rounded him up for interrogations.

Another eye-witness said that the police brought the man to a small room for interrogations and arranged for him to receive medical treatment later on.

Click on thumbnail to view (Photos: Lianhe Wanbao)

Been sailing for seven months

The Polish man had reportedly been at sea seven-months and developed withdrawal symptoms which led to his sudden outburst.

According to Lianhe Wanbao, his friends rushed to the airport after being informed, so they could explain the sailor's plight to the police.

The male is a Polish sailor who spends most of his time out at sea.

His stressful work at sea required him to take anti-depressants and the side effects of the drug caused him to develop withdrawal symptoms.

The doctor who examined this Polish sailor said he was not mentally unwell but too stressed by his work. In addition to stress, the side effects of the drug also played a part in his strange behaviour.

After the doctor confirmed that the sailor was in a stable mental state, the police allowed him to depart on the flight.