CNN
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A person has been charged with theft after allegedly stealing greater than $23,000 in money from three fellow passengers whereas on a finances flight from Vietnam to Singapore.
The person was named in court docket cost sheets as Zhang Xiuqiang, a 52-year-old Chinese language nationwide who had been on board a flight operated by Scoot, the finances wing of Singapore Airways. An airline spokesperson instructed CNN that it “was conscious of an incident” that occurred on board a flight from Ho Chi Minh Metropolis to Singapore on December 16.
“Our cabin crew was alerted by a passenger to a suspected theft within the cabin and activated the Airport Police Division,” the spokesperson mentioned. “The concerned passengers had been escorted off the plane by airport authorities for additional investigation, and disembarkation proceeded as typical for the remainder of our passengers.”
Based on cost sheets learn out in court docket and carried by Singapore public broadcaster Channel NewsAsia, Zhang allegedly stole from three separate passengers. He reportedly took 3 million Vietnamese dong ($123) from a passenger’s backpack, and 510 million Vietnamese dong ($20,950) and a 50 Singapore greenback word ($38) from a black messenger bag belonging to a different.
He additionally allegedly took $1,000 and 930 Singapore {dollars} ($700) from an envelope present in a grey bag belonging to a 3rd passenger.
Cabin theft constitutes a federal crime in lots of nations and is extra frequent than most vacationers suppose. Hong Kong police in October warned of a spike in thefts on inbound airplanes after discovering against the law syndicate that stole bank cards from passengers. In 2019, Hong Kong’s Cathay Pacific Airways introduced a crackdown on petty theft of inflight provides on board its planes by its cabin crew.
In the meantime, a person was arrested in Taiwan in September for allegedly stealing money from one other passenger’s carry-on baggage on a flight from Tokyo to Taipei.
Zhang has been remanded for police investigations. If convicted of theft, he may withstand three years’ jail, a fantastic, or each per cost.
Scoot mentioned it was unable to supply additional particulars in regards to the case however has warned crew and passengers to stay vigilant on board.
“Our working crew are educated to be vigilant and alert authorities of any suspicious conduct on board our flights,” it mentioned within the assertion. “We additionally advise our prospects to safeguard their valuables always.”