Business class passenger on Singapore Airlines flight tried to steal a man's bag. His wife caught him
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "Business class passenger on Singapore Airlines flight tried to steal a man's bag. His wife caught him")
The incident happened on a Singapore Airlines flight from Dubai. Photograph: (Unsplash)
A Chinese national has been jailed for trying to steal from a business class passenger on board a Singapore Airlines flight. He had boarded the plane with the intention of taking expensive items from those seated in the business class.
A man travelling in the Business Class of a Singapore Airlines flight has been sentenced to 20 years in jail for trying to steal another passenger's bag. Liu Ming took the flight from Dubai on August 7 and attempted to remove objects from an Azerbaijani man's and his wife's bags in the business class cabin. The Chinese national, identified as Liu, pleaded guilty to one charge of theft. He is said to have boarded the flight specifically for the purpose of stealing from business class passengers. The businessman and his wife were seated separately, and Liu was five rows in front of the 52-year-old man and one row in front of his victim’s wife.
Liu acted upon his intentions after the dinner service since the light had been dimmed. Both the husband and wife had fallen asleep by then. Liu walked back towards the man's seat and took out his bag from the overhead cabin, and brought it to his seat. He assumed that no one was watching, but the man's wife had woken up by then. She saw Liu carry her husband's bag to his seat. She got up and confronted him. However, she failed to understand his language and called the crew. Liu understood he had been caught, and immediately put the bag back. He told the crew that he had taken it by mistake. The group staff was informed about the incident, and Liu was caught at the Changi Airport upon arrival.
Liu denied the theft
The bag contained items worth S$100,000, including a Huawei laptop worth about S$2,100, 56 cigars worth more than S$5,400, a Chopard watch worth more than S$35,000, and an Audemars Piguet watch worth more than S$51,000, The Independent reported. As the woman had confronted Liu soon after he took the bag, no items were found missing. The police said Liu continued to deny he had done anything, even though his bag was entirely different from the Azerbaijani businessman's bag. Deputy public prosecutor Cheah Wenjie said the incident on board Singapore’s national carrier "would tarnish its reputation, and that of Singapore’s tourist industry."
