This Man Was Charged With Stealing Rp356 Million In Cash From Fellow Airplane Passengers While Flying

Illustration of Scoot's airline fleet. (Wikimedia Commons/SBS6577P)

JAKARTA - A man was charged with theft after allegedly stealing more than $23,000 in cash from three other passengers while on a flight from Vietnam to Singapore.

The man is mentioned in the court indictment as Zhang Xiuqiang, a Chinese citizen (52) who is on a flight operated by Scoot airline.

An airline spokesman told CNN they "know a incident" that occurred on flights from Ho Chi Minh City to Singapore on December 16, as quoted January 4.

"Our cabin crew was notified by a passenger of the alleged theft in the cabin and activated the Airport Police Division," the spokesman said.

Based on the indictment read out in court and published by Singapore's public broadcaster Channel News Asia, Zhang allegedly stole from three different passengers.

He reportedly took 3 million Vietnam (123 US dollars) from the passenger backpack and 510 million Vietnam (20,950 US dollars) and 50 Singapore dollars (38 US dollars) banknotes from another passenger's black courier bag.

He is also suspected of taking 1.000 US dollars and 930 Singapore dollars (700 US dollars) from an envelope found in a gray bag belonging to a third passenger.

Zhang has been sent home for police investigation. If proven to have committed theft, he could face a sentence of three years in prison, a fine, or both per charge.

Scoot said it could not provide further details about the case but had warned crew and passengers to remain vigilant on board.

"Our operational crews are trained to be vigilant and warn authorities if there is suspicious behavior on our flight," he said in a statement.

"We also advise our customers to always take care of their valuables," he said.

It is known, cabin theft is a federal crime in many countries and is more common than most tourists think.

Hong Kong police warned in October that there was a spike in theft on incoming aircraft after finding a crime syndicate that stole credit cards from passengers.

In 2019, Cathay Pacific Airways of Hong Kong announced a crackdown on the small theft of in-plane supply carried out by its cabin crew.

Meanwhile, a man was arrested in Taiwan in September for allegedly stealing cash from another passenger's laptop on a flight from Tokyo to Taipei.