Chinese man jailed for stealing from passengers on Scoot flight from Vietnam to Singapore

The plane landed in Singapore and as the crew prepared to disembark passengers, several passengers claimed that money was missing from their carry-on luggage.

Graham Valmai Hope, a 62-year-old South African woman, was sitting in seat 11B next to Chan in seat 11C.

During the flight, Hope saw Zhang walk down the aisle and remove a gray bag from the overhead bin above seat 7E.

Mr. Zhang returned to his seat with his bag, took something out of it, put it in his jacket, and handed it back.

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When the plane landed, Hope noticed that it was a 29-year-old Korean man who had pulled out the gray bag that Zhang had rummaged through earlier.

When Hope asked the Korean man to check the contents of his bag, the man confirmed that he had lost an envelope containing $1,000 in cash and 930 Singapore dollars (approximately 70,000 yen).

Hope told the victim that Chan was the one who took it. At this point, Mr. Zhang was not in his seat, but was standing along the aisle waiting to disembark.

Another man, 60-year-old Singaporean Richard Koo He Kung, heard the conversation and saw Mr Zhang hurrying to leave.

Koo stopped Chan from leaving and saw Chan throw an envelope onto seat 7D.

The victim then picked up the envelope and counted the cash inside. That matched the amount he lost.

Two other passengers who heard the commotion also checked their baggage and noticed that their cash was also missing.

One of them lost S$50 and VND5.16 million (US$210). The amount was previously reported to be S$5,000 and VND510 million, based on Zhang’s indictment at the time.

The fee schedule has since been amended to reflect the lower value.

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The third victim lost 600 Singapore dollars and 3 million Vietnamese dong.

Another passenger said Zhang threw more cash onto the floor of the plane. He did this to destroy evidence, the court said.

The captain called the police for help, and Zhang was arrested. He initially denied the crime, even though witnesses had seen him act.

All cash belonging to the three victims was recovered.

Deputy Public Prosecutor R. Alvindren said the sentence imposed “sends a generous message to both the defendant and other foreigners that Singapore will not tolerate foreigners who board flights to Singapore and commit crimes.” He said it was necessary and asked for a sentence of six to nine months in prison.

He cited the example of 2013, when a spate of crimes by Chinese nationals targeted Singapore-controlled aircraft.

Alvindren said the judge at the time said the starting point for a prison sentence was nine months, regardless of the amount stolen.

However, he acknowledged that the likely scenario would be for the defendant to insist on a trial and obtain an “appropriate sentence reduction” for the time period he is seeking from Jang.

Alvindren said plane passengers cannot always monitor their belongings. Many passengers slept or carried out their own activities on the plane, and “there can be no duty to always watch over one’s baggage so that others do not take it,” prosecutors said.

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Mr. Zhang was remanded. Through a Mandarin interpreter, he asked for a lighter sentence, saying he was remorseful and had made full restitution to the victims.

The judge said these crimes were easy to commit but difficult to detect.

“In this case, the fact that the defendant actually received the money is the only reason he did not prevail.” [completing the theft] It’s because of someone else’s vigilance, and it’s not something that can be blamed on him,” District Judge Ong Luan Tse said.

After hearing the sentence translated into Mandarin, Zhang exclaimed in Chinese, “That’s a bit harsh.”

The judge responded that this was her decision and that he could choose what to do next, noting the possibility of an appeal.

In the case of theft, the offender can be sentenced to up to three years in prison, a fine, or both.