Scoot and Singapore Airlines aircrafts sit on the tarmac at Singapore’s Changi Airport, March 23, 2020. Photo by Reuters
A Chinese national was charged with theft after he allegedly stole a stack of cash worth US$885 from another passenger during a flight to Singapore.
Zhang Youqi, 30, was accused of taking the money from a drawstring pouch placed inside a brown haversack on board Scoot’s flight TR813, CNA reported.
The alleged theft took place between 8:40 a.m. and 1:50 p.m. on Tuesday while the flight was traveling from Jeju to Changi Airport.
Police earlier said initial investigations indicated that a passenger spotted the Chinese man allegedly touching her bag in the overhead compartment and confronted him.
After inspecting her bag, she noticed a stack of US dollar bills was missing and suspected that Zhang had taken it.
Airport Police Division officers conducted an investigation after the plane landed in Singapore. With the help of the cabin crew, they discovered the missing cash in a different overhead compartment, which the man had passed through during the incident.
Zhang is out on bail of S$10,000 (US$7,400), with his next court hearing set for Feb. 13. If convicted, he may face a jail term of up to three years, a fine, or both.
