Man to be charged with stealing passenger’s wallet on flight to Singapore

SINGAPORE: A 30-year-old man will be charged in court on Thursday (Mar 27) for allegedly stealing a passenger’s wallet onboard a flight to Singapore and using her debit card at Changi Airport. 

The Singapore Police Force (SPF) said it was alerted to the case at about 4.55am on Mar 16.

The victim had kept her wallet inside her handbag and stored it in the overhead compartment during the flight.

Her debit card, taken from her missing wallet, was allegedly used at retail outlets in the transit area of Changi Airport, the police said.

The passenger called the police after she received notifications of unauthorised transactions on her banking application.

Both the suspect, an Indonesian man, and the passenger knew each other and had used the same overhead compartment to store their belongings, the police said.

SPF did not reveal which flight the alleged offence took place.

The man was arrested by the Airport Police Division. He will be charged in court on Thursday with theft. If convicted, he faces up to three years' jail, a fine, or both.

If found guilty of cheating, he could be jailed for up to 10 years and will also be fined.

The police said they have zero tolerance against acts of theft on board aircraft.

"It was fortunate that the passenger had enabled notifications on her banking app, allowing her to quickly report the unauthorised transactions of her debit card," said Assistant Commissioner of Police M Malathi, commander of the Airport Police Division.

"This enabled a swift response from us to arrest the man before he could depart from Singapore."