Now, "hot watergate" has forced a China-bound Thai AirAsia flight to return to Bangkok, angering not just the passengers on board but also the Chinese government and public.

Shortly after flight FD9101 took off last Thursday evening from Bangkok for the eastern Chinese city of Nanjing, a male passenger asked a flight attendant for boiling water for his girlfriend's instant noodles, witnesses told China's state media.

When told they had to wait for the plane to reach cruising altitude, the young man reportedly dumped food on the aisle, stomped on it and yelled at other passengers who tried to calm him down.

He was allegedly still fuming as a flight attendant of the budget airline brought a cup of hot water and charged him 60 Thai baht ($2) for it.

Another argument ensued when he demanded Chinese currency for change as well as an official receipt, state media reported.

As the quarrel dragged on, the man's girlfriend threw hot water on the back of a flight attendant, witnesses said. When the purser demanded the woman apologize, the boyfriend exploded.

In a cell phone video taken by a fellow passenger and posted online, a man in a gray T-shirt and jeans can be heard shouting in Mandarin: "You don't think I have money? ...You caused all the problems and I'm going to blow up the plane!"

When the couple realized the flight was being turned back, the woman reportedly grew hysterical, hitting windows and threatening to jump off the plane, according to state media.

The plane -- carrying 174 passengers and six crew members -- hadn't even left Thai airspace before it turned around.

"The captain of the flight decided to return the plane to Don Mueang Airport [Bangkok's secondary airport] deeming her actions as endangering to other passengers and impeding in-flight service," the airline said in a statement.

Thai authorities reportedly questioned the couple -- along with two of their friends who were also involved in the incident -- and ordered them to pay the flight attendant 50,000 baht ($1,500).

The woman was also fined 200 baht ($6) and the other three passengers 100 baht ($3) each for disturbing public order.

As news of "hot watergate" spread online, many Chinese Internet users lamented that the airline didn't press criminal charges, calling the fines imposed by Thai officials a slap on the wrist for such "shameful" behavior.

(CNN)