Malaysian media has reported the country's Deputy Transport Minister Datuk Seri Aziz Ab Kaprawi told the Australian Federal Police, the "disruptive passenger" was "drunk".
The man refused to sit down, and threatened to "blow the plane up", he said.
Photographs taken by other passengers showed heavily armed security personnel boarding the plane after its return to Melbourne.
Passenger Andrew Leoncelli said the device the man had was a boombox type portable music player.
The plane departed Melbourne airport at 11:11pm (local time) before making a turnback and landing safely at 11:41pm, Malaysia Airlines said.
MH128 was forced to turn back to Melbourne due to a disruptive passenger who claimed to have a bomb just minutes after take-off. The incident happened as the plane was flying to Kuala Lumpur. The man had been pinned to the floor and subdued by other passengers. The MH128 safely landed at the airport at 11:41 p.m.
The man was tackled by passengers who overpowered him and tied him up with belts.
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Drew Ambrose, a reporter for Al Jazeera who was also on board, told the Australian television network ABC that the man was carrying what appeared to be an electronic device as he ran back and forth.
Passengers on the flight said they feared for their lives when he rushed towards the cockpit shouting that he wanted to "blow the plane up".
The authorities and airline launched a probe into the matter and found out that the man had no bomb but a history of mental illness.
"It is alleged that a man tried to enter the cockpit and threatened the safety of passengers and staff", said Victoria Police Senior Constable Adam West.
"Emergency services were called to [Melbourne] Tullamarine Airport around 23:40 last night after a request for assistance from an airline". The passengers have disembarked the aircraft in the meantime and have been taken to hotels.
The airline has struggled to recover from the twin tragedies, having to cut staff and restructure its business as passenger numbers fell.
Melbourne Airport was placed in lockdown after the incident, with flights resuming at 2:30 a.m., but travelers were urged to contact airlines for more information.
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