A man faces up to three years in prison for purportedly helping himself to nearly $23,000 from three different passenger carry-on bags onboard a flight to Singapore.
Man Accused Of Stealing $23,000 From Three Passengers On Singapore-Bound Flight
Zhang Xiuqiang, 52, a Chinese national, had quite a “productive” flight on Scoot Airlines flight TR305 from Ho Chi Minh City (SGN) to Singapore (SIN) on December 16, 2023. During that two hour flight, he is accused of stealing:
- $20,948 from a black backpack (over 500,000,000 Vietnamese Dong)
- $1,500 from an envelope in a gray bag
- $500 from another backpack
Xiuqiang must not have been the sharpest knife in the drawer because getting away with stealing on a long and dark overnight flight is one thing, but stealing from multiple passengers in broad daylight (the flight departed at 9:30 am) is really a head-scratcher.
My guess is that someone noticed him take something and may have even confronted him, because authorities were alerted and met the aircraft when it landed at Singapore Changi Airport. There, Xiuqiang was escorted off the aircraft and directly into custody.
He has been charged with three counts of theft.
A Scott spokesperson explained:
“Our cabin crew was alerted by a passenger to a suspected theft in the cabin and activated the Airport Police Division. The involved passengers were escorted off the aircraft by airport authorities for further investigation, and disembarkation proceeded as usual for the rest of our passengers.”
The spokesperson added, ‘”We also advise our customers to safeguard their valuables at all times.”
No kidding. I’m not about to ever travel with $20,000 in cash, let alone $1,500, but if I did I would place it in my personal items and keep it under the seat in front of me…
CONCLUSION
A man faces jail time in Singapore for his allegedly stealing over $23,000 from a trio of passengers onboard a morning flight to Singapore.
I find it odd that this this theft was made in broad daylight and do seriously what was going through Xiuqiang’s mind (hence the kleptomaniac suggestion).
While I would avoid carrying valuables altogether on flights, if you must carry money, keep it close and out of reach of sticky hands.
Pouch around the neck , next to chest , is a good suggestion .
Who travels with that much cash? In my case my wallet stays in my pocket or inside my backpack which is locked.
Asians love cash BELIEVE THAT.
The US government should hire him. He’s do well.
He would be a good fit as a politician .
I have a flexible bucket style tote bag. It’s nice because it can stand up when needed. It also remains wide open. It’s used for water bottles, clothing etc. Nothing of value. Twice I’ve found someone with their hand in/on it returning from the lav. You wouldn’t your seatmate could be that stupid.
Why did they take your tote to the lav ?
@ alert I leave it on the seat or floor. Valuables are with me in lav. It probably looks tempting because it is a very nice tote.
@Maryland … Thanks … I was joking because I saw a funny in your sentence . Cheers .
25 strokes on the bare bottom with a cane!
If he cries, 25 more!
Nah…. ! stroke per USDing, or better yet, 1 stroke per Viet Dong pilfered ! ..Just a few million !
WHY would anyone carry around $ 23,000 in their backpack. It is not only dangerous but probably opens up the case for illegal money.
I’ve traveled with a large amount of cash on an airline to purchase a classic car in another state and cash was the only way they would sell the car out of state. Not even a bank check as they are easily faked and canceled. Just keep that cash in eyesight or on your persons. Dahhh…
Klepto? Are you suggesting that he was suddenly overcome by an irresistible urge to steal? That’s more charitable than my take which is that he’s just a miserable thief.
I’m tempted to tease Matt (ok, I’m succumbing to it…) to point out that he put his passport in one of those tempting storage areas and forgot about it. While we can all say it’s ideal to store our valuables on us at all times, confess folks, you put your passport into your laptop case like I do. We have an area where we stow all the goodies: boarding passes, passports, and money and watch it like a hawk. It’s great when we do so as a family because that helps secure it.
I’m surprised that with all these overpriced designer bags out there, it’s not become a standard to include an alarm feature that can be set to go off if someone opens it incorrectly or moves the bag. I love the scene in From Russia with Love where Bond tricks the Spectre villain by letting him open a boobytrapped briefcase.