A 51-year-old man was accused in court on Tuesday, March 18, of stealing money and a credit card while traveling to Singapore on a Scoot flight.
According to the police, a male passenger allegedly saw the Chinese national, who was identified as Zhang Kun, get a bag from the plane's overhead bin and carry it back to his seat while searching through it on Monday, March 17. It is said that the bag's owner was not in his seat at the time.
Zhang stole a credit card, S$200 (US$150), and RM100 (US$22) from a black wallet inside a black haversack at around 12.05 am on the trip from Kuala Lumpur to Singapore, according to his charge sheet.
The authorities revealed that before putting the bag back in the compartment, the witness saw Zhang concealing some of its contents under his jacket.
Following this, the witness informed the bag's owner about the alleged theft and eventually the owner found the missing things.
When the plane touched down at Changi Airport, the bag's owner got off and looked for the man based on the witness's description. He alerted the police at around 12.20 am.
Zhang was located within the transit area and the officers from Airport Police Division arrested him for suspected theft.
Zhang, speaking for himself in court, denied stealing the goods and said he was innocent. He emphasized that neither the flight attendant nor the crew had been notified by the witness to immediately arrest him.
He added, as reported by CNA, "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."
"The items were not found on me. Why did they say that I did it? They need to show me the proof," Zhang noted.
Zhang stated that he would not be hiring a lawyer because it was his first time in Singapore.
On March 27, a pre-trial meeting has been scheduled for his case. If found guilty of theft, Zhang can be jailed up to three years, or fined, or both for theft.
