Man who stole on Scoot flight sentenced to 10 months’ jail

SINGAPORE: A 51-year-old has been sentenced to 10 months in prison after he was found guilty of stealing cash and a credit card from a fellow passenger during a Scoot flight from Kuala Lumpur to Singapore earlier this year.

The incident occurred on March 16 aboard Scoot flight TR465. Zhang Kun, the accused, was seated three rows behind the victim when he allegedly removed a bag from the overhead storage compartment and took it to his own seat. Inside the bag, he stole S$200, 100 Malaysian ringgit, and a credit card from the victim’s wallet, before returning the bag to its original location.

At the time, the victim had temporarily left his seat to join friends at the rear of the aircraft to celebrate his birthday.

The theft did not go unnoticed. A passenger seated next to Zhang reportedly witnessed the act and later alerted the victim after the flight landed in Singapore. Following the report, Zhang was arrested by police later that evening.

Further investigations revealed that Zhang was not acting alone. Authorities believe he had an accomplice on the flight, though details about the second individual have not been disclosed.

Zhang initially denied the charges and challenged the prosecution to produce evidence. However, the court found sufficient grounds for conviction based on witness testimony and the sequence of events detailed in the investigation.

He was sentenced to 10 months’ imprisonment for the offence.