SINGAPORE: A Chinese passenger travelling in Singapore Airlines’ business class managed to steal a suitcase containing over S$100,000 worth of different currencies, luxurious watches, and a computer.
His crime was revealed when he was confronted by the victim’s wife on the spot and was arrested at the boarding gate upon arrival in Singapore. The 26-year-old Chinese national faced a theft charge and was sentenced to one year and eight months’ imprisonment as punishment.
According to case reports, the flight departed from Dubai and was bound for Singapore, with an estimated flight time of seven hours and 20 minutes. The 52-year-old victim was travelling with his wife and child, and was seated in business class.
The victim was sitting in seat 16K, while his wife was sitting in seat 20K, just four rows behind. The suspect was sitting in seat 21F. The cabin lights were then dimmed after the dinner service, and the flight attendants were all in the cabin catering preparation area. During this time, the victim was asleep, and his wife had just woken up; the suspect walked to the overhead luggage compartment above the victim’s seat to take out the luggage.
The luggage then contained thick stacks of various currencies, a laptop computer amounting to S$2,100, 56 cigars worth S$5,600, a watch worth more than $35,000, and another diamond watch with an estimated amount of S$51,000. The total value of all the items inside the luggage is more than S$107,000.
After witnessing the crime, the victim’s wife confronted the suspect, and even though she was unable to understand his response, she reported the incident to the flight attendants. At this time, the suspect returned the luggage to its original placement without opening it and acted as if nothing had happened. The victim confirmed that nothing was missing from his belongings.
The suspect was arrested upon arrival in Singapore and remains in custody with the police.
In similar news, a male passenger flying to Bali, Indonesia via Scoot discovered that his luggage had been raided and his cash and credit cards were missing.
“I dozed off on the plane, and when I got off, I found that my bag had been searched and all my money and cards had been stolen,” the passenger flying to Singapore admitted.
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