A Chinese national has been sentenced to 20 months in jail for stealing a fellow passenger's luggage on a Singapore Airlines flight from Dubai to Singapore. Liu Ming, 26, pleaded guilty to one charge of theft in a Singapore court.
The court heard that Liu boarded the flight on 7 August with the specific intention of stealing high-value items from business class passengers. He was seated five rows in front of an Azerbaijani businessman and one row in front of the man's wife.
In the early hours of 8 August, after the dinner service and when cabin lights were dimmed, Liu took the victim's luggage from an overhead compartment and carried it to his seat. The victim's wife woke up, confronted him, and alerted cabin crew. Liu returned the bag, claiming he had mistaken it for his own, but his bag was entirely different in appearance and material.
The victim's bag contained items worth over S$100,000 (£57,625), including cash, a Huawei laptop, 56 cigars, a Chopard watch, and an Audemars Piguet watch. No items were missing due to the swift intervention.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Cheah Wenjie argued that theft on Singapore's national carrier tarnishes its reputation and the country's tourist industry. Liu was uncooperative during investigations, maintaining the theft was a mistake.
