A man who allegedly stole US$885 (S$1,200) in cash on a Scoot flight was nabbed thanks to an alert female passenger who caught him in the act and called him out on board.
The 31-year-old woman named only as Ms Pan (transliterated from Mandarin) related her account of the incident to Shin Min Daily News, saying she’d noticed the man behaving suspiciously even before boarding the plane.
Source: Shin Min Daily News
Ms Pan said the man was constantly checking her out while waiting to board the flight from South Korea’s Jeju Island to Singapore.
After boarding, she sat in a middle seat while the man took his seat in another row nearby.
She fell asleep, but about half an hour before landing she was awoken by a noise and saw him rummaging in the overhead cabin.
He allegedly tried to take Ms Pan’s bag, but decided to take some cash from the bag of another woman, she added.
The woman whose cash was allegedly taken appeared to have been aware of it and confronted the man, who denied everything.
The two reached a stalemate and Ms Pan wondered whether she should say anything as this was the first time she’d witnessed something like this.
She was also unsure whether the man had done this before, and afraid that he might pull out a weapon.
However, she decided to come forward and call the man out anyway.
The police were called, and passengers were told that they had to remain on the plane after landing.
This caused a disembarkation delay of about one hour as the police boarded the plane to conduct investigations.
Ms Pan understood that the alleged victim had removed cash from her bag when she bought a meal during the flight, and this was noticed by the man.
In a news release on Thursday (5 Feb), the Singapore Police Force (SPF) said it was alerted at about 1.56pm on Wednesday (4 Feb) to an alleged theft that took place onboard an aircraft on the way to Singapore.
This was Scoot flight TR813 from Jeju to Singapore, reported Channel NewsAsia (CNA).
Source: FlyScoot on Facebook. Photo for illustration purposes only.
A report was made after the alleged victim found a stack of US dollars missing from her bag.
Officers from the Airport Police Division conducted investigations after the plane landed at Changi Airport, with the assistance of the cabin crew.
The missing stack of cash amounting to US$885 (S$1,200) was found in another overheard compartment that the man had passed by during the incident.
The man, a 30-year-old Chinese national, was charged with theft in court on Thursday (6 Feb).
He was named Zhang Youqi, according to court documents seen by the CNA.
If convicted, he faces a jail term of up to three years and/or a fine.
He is out on bail of S$10,000 and will return for the next hearing of his case on 13 Feb.
SPF said it takes “a serious view” of theft cases on board aircraft. “Offenders will be dealt with firmly in accordance with the law,” it added.
Also read: Woman’s carry-on goes missing from overhead compartment on Jetstar flight from Melbourne to S’pore
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Featured image adapted from Shin Min Daily News and FlyScoot on Facebook. Photo on right for illustration purposes only.
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