A 30-year-old man, Jiang Yangbo, was sentenced to seven months in
prison for stealing a credit card from a fellow passenger on an AirAsia
flight from Kuala Lumpur to Singapore.
The incident occurred on 16 May 2024, when Jiang, a Chinese national,
removed a blue laptop bag belonging to another passenger, Jin Chengjie,
a 36-year-old Chinese national residing in Singapore, from the overhead
compartment.
Jiang placed the bag on his lap and searched through it, taking Jin’s
Citibank credit card and concealing it in his right rear pocket. After
returning the laptop bag to the overhead compartment, Jiang went to the
bathroom and then returned to his seat.
However, a fellow passenger witnessed the theft and noted that Jiang
had only a black sling bag upon landing at Changi Airport. After the
flight, the witness informed Jin about seeing Jiang take something from
his bag. Jin quickly realised his credit card was missing and cancelled
it.
Jiang, who was waiting to disembark, attempted to evade capture by
tossing the stolen card back into the overhead compartment. The card was
later found by another passenger, and investigations revealed it had
not been misused.
At the airport, Jin and the witness approached an auxiliary police
officer, leading to Jiang's arrest. The Singapore Police Force stated,
“The police have zero tolerance against acts of theft on board an
aircraft and will spare no effort to apprehend such offenders.” They
also urged passengers to safeguard their valuables and report any
suspicious behaviour to cabin crew.