A passenger onboard a Scoot Airways flight from Ho Chi Minh City to Singapore has been charged with stealing more than $23,000 in cash from three of his seatmates after he was allegedly caught rifling through hand luggage in the overhead lockers.
The 52-year-old Chinese man was charged in a Singapore court with three counts of theft on Monday and, if found guilty, faces the threat of up to three years imprisonment for each count.
Prosecutors allege Zhang Xiuqiang managed to swipe the cash during a three-hour period while onboard Scoot flight TR305 on December 16. That would include the one-and-a-half-hour flight time, as well as time boarding the flight and disembarking.
One victim had 510 million Vietnamese dong and S$50 swiped from their rucksack, while the second victim lost US$1,000 and S$930 which had been in an envelope in their carry-on bag.
The third victim had 3 million Vietnamese dong and S$600 taken from their backpack.
Although Zhang seemingly went unnoticed as he searched through different bags, a Scoot spokesperson explained that one of the passengers onboard the flight became suspicious and alerted the cabin crew.
The crew then radioed ahead for the police to meet the aircraft, and the suspect was led off the plane on arrival.
This is by no means the first time that thieves have targeted high-value possessions carried by passengers in their hand luggage and there have been a string of similar stories in recent years.
Scoot said in a statement that it advises “customers to safeguard their valuables at all times.”
TOTH: LoyaltyLobby
