SINGAPORE: A man was charged in court on Tuesday (Mar 18) with stealing cash and a credit card while on board a Scoot flight heading to Singapore.
Zhang Kun, a 51-year-old Chinese national, was purportedly observed by a male passenger taking a bag from the overhead compartment of the plane back to his seat and rummaging through it, the police said of the incident, which occurred on Monday. The owner of the bag was supposedly away from his seat at the time.
According to his charge sheet, at about 12.05am, while on the flight from Kuala Lumpur to Singapore, Zhang stole a credit card, S$200 (US$150) and RM100 (US$22) from a black wallet inside a black haversack.
The witness noticed Zhang hiding some of the bag’s items in his jacket before returning the bag to the compartment, the police said.
The witness then alerted the owner of the bag to the suspected theft and the owner discovered the items missing.
After the plane landed at Changi Airport, the owner of the bag disembarked and searched for the man based on the witness’ description while calling the police, who were alerted at about 12.20am.
The duo managed to locate Zhang within the transit area and officers from Airport Police Division arrested him for suspected theft.
Representing himself in court, Zhang said that he was not guilty and denied stealing the items.
He pointed out that the witness had not informed the flight attendant or crew to arrest him on the spot.
“The person who accused me of theft did not inform the victim of the theft so that the items can be verified on the spot in the bag,” he added.
“The items were not found on me. Why did they say that I did it? They need to show me the proof.”
CNA has asked the police about the status of the stolen items.
Zhang said that it was his first time visiting Singapore and that he would not be engaging a lawyer.
His case has been slated for a pre-trial conference on Mar 27.
If convicted, Zhang can be jailed up to three years, or fined, or both for theft.