Jail for man who stole colleague’s wallet during flight, used her card at Changi Airport

SINGAPORE – During a flight to Singapore, a man noticed his colleague’s wallet sticking out of her handbag next to his haversack in the overhead compartment.

Instead of informing her, he stole the wallet and stashed it in his bag.

He attempted to use her debit card while in transit at Changi Airport, but his plan was foiled when she received an e-mail notification from her bank that her card was being used.

On April 10, Indonesian national Dimas Setiawan Joko, 30, was sentenced to six months’ jail after he pleaded guilty to one count of theft and one of cheating.

Another similar charge was taken into consideration for his sentencing.

The court heard that Dimas and the victim worked on board the Royal Caribbean cruise ship. Dimas had been employed as a chef, while the woman was a restaurant attendant.

On March 15, the cruise ship docked in Sydney, Australia. The crew then disembarked as they had been working on board for eight months, and were permitted to take a two-month break.

The pair were scheduled to return home to Indonesia, transiting through Singapore.

Their flight left Sydney at about 7pm in the evening, reaching Singapore just after midnight on March 16.

When he got on board the plane in Sydney, Dimas placed his haversack in the same overhead storage compartment used by his colleague, who was sitting near him.

Four hours into the flight, he stood up to retrieve something from his bag and spotted her wallet sticking out of her handbag. He took the wallet and stashed it in his bag.

After landing at Changi Airport and while waiting for his flight to Indonesia, Dimas tried to purchase a bottle of water, but his debit card was declined. He then remembered he had his colleague’s wallet and used her debit card to pay for the water.

Dimas then proceeded to The Cocoa Trees, a confectionery retail store in Terminal 2, showed the cashier his colleague’s card and asked if he could use it to pay for his purchases.

He told the cashier that the debit card belonged to his wife.

The cashier tested the card by successfully making a transaction of one cent, then voided the transaction.

At this time, the woman received an e-mail notification that a transaction of one cent had been made on her card.

Realising that her card was being used by someone else, she transferred all the funds on the card to another account.

She then quickly made a police report at 1.48am.

Dimas later attempted to pay for around $90 worth of chocolates using the stolen card, but the shop’s card reader indicated there were no funds available.

Dimas excused himself and headed to the departure hall to wait for his flight to Indonesia.

He threw away his colleague’s wallet, including the card, after removing about $200 in cash from it.

Dimas was arrested by the police on the same day.

An offender found guilty of theft or cheating can be jailed for up to three years and fined.