Traveller who stole credit card, over $200 in cash during Scoot flight gets 10 months’ jail
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Chinese national Zhang Kun had retrieved the victim’s bag from an overhead compartment while the latter was away from his seat.
PHOTO ILLUSTRATION: PEXELS
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SINGAPORE – A traveller was on board a Scoot flight when he retrieved another passenger’s bag from an overhead compartment while the man was away from his seat, took out a wallet and stole its contents
After that, Zhang Kun placed the wallet back into the bag and returned it to the overhead compartment.
A nearby passenger who saw what Zhang had done alerted the victim after the plane landed, and the thief was arrested.
On May 28, Zhang, a 51-year-old Chinese national, who was in remand, was sentenced to 10 months’ jail after he pleaded guilty to a theft charge. He has made full restitution.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Eugene Phua told the court that Zhang and the 35-year-old Singaporean victim had boarded the Singapore-bound flight in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, at around 11pm on March 16.
During the journey, the victim and his fiancee left their seats to meet his friend and the friend’s wife for a birthday celebration at the back of the plane.
Seeing that the couple had left their seats, Zhang walked to an overhead compartment near the victim’s seat and committed the offence.
After the plane landed at Changi Airport about an hour later, Mr K. Visvanathan, a 59-year-old Singaporean, approached the victim to tell him about the theft.
The victim checked his belongings and found his cash and credit card missing.
Mr Visvanathan then pointed at Zhang, and the victim confronted the thief before blocking his credit card. A check later revealed that no one had used it for unauthorised transactions.
The victim’s fiancee contacted the police at around 12.15am on March 17. Officers arrived at the scene soon after but could not find the loot in Zhang’s possession.
Court documents did not disclose what he did with them, but he was observed making several trips to a toilet before the officers’ arrival.
Investigations revealed that Zhang had accomplices who were also on board the flight and were transiting in Singapore before making their way to Hong Kong.
Initially, Zhang did not admit to taking the credit card and cash.
He also did not reveal to the police what he had done with the stolen items.
The police said in a statement on May 28 that Mr Visvanathan received a Public Spiritedness Award on March 25 for his contribution that led to Zhang’s arrest.
Assistant Commissioner of Police M. Malathi (left) presenting the Public Spiritedness Award to Mr K.Visvanathan.
PHOTO: SINGAPORE POLICE FORCE
“His timely information was instrumental in enabling our officers to take swift action to identify and arrest the accused,” said Commander of the Airport Police Division, Assistant Commissioner M. Malathi.
“Such vigilance goes a long way in the swift detection and substantiation of such crimes, which are often challenging to uncover due to their transient nature... We hope that his action will serve to inspire others to keep air travel safe for all travellers.”
For theft, an offender can be jailed for up to three years and fined.
Shaffiq Alkhatib is The Straits Times’ court correspondent, covering mainly criminal cases heard at the State Courts.
