24.12.2025 21:30
A theft attempt that occurred in the business class cabin of a Singapore Airlines flight from Dubai to Singapore has been taken to court. Liu Ming, a 26-year-old Chinese national, was sentenced to 20 months in prison after admitting to his crime of trying to steal another passenger's bag from the overhead compartment.
A passenger who attempted to steal another passenger's luggage on a Singapore Airlines flight was sentenced to 20 months in prison. The incident occurred on a flight from Dubai to Singapore.
ADMITTED THE CHARGES
On the flight that took place on August 7, 26-year-old Chinese national Liu Ming attempted to steal items from the luggage of an Azerbaijani passenger and his wife traveling in business class. Liu admitted to the theft charge against him.
According to information presented to the court, it was noted that Liu specifically boarded the plane targeting the valuable belongings of business class passengers.
LIGHTS DIMMED, ACTION TAKEN
Liu was recorded sitting five rows ahead of the 52-year-old victim. In the early hours of August 8, after the meal service was completed and the cabin lights were dimmed, Liu took action.
While the victim was asleep, his wife briefly woke up and noticed Liu taking the bag from the overhead compartment and moving it to his own seat.
CREW INTERVENED
The victim's wife confronted Liu, but when she received no response, she reported the situation to the cabin crew. Realizing he was in trouble, Liu returned the luggage to its place.
Liu claimed to the cabin crew that he had mixed up the luggage with his own bag. Following this, the flight crew informed the ground services at Changi Airport, and Liu was arrested after the plane landed.
A FORTUNE FOUND IN THE BAG
The victim's bag contained items worth over 100,000 Singapore dollars (approximately 3.35 million TL). These included:
Cash
Huawei laptop worth 2,100 Singapore dollars
56 cigars worth over 5,400 Singapore dollars
Chopard watch worth 35,000 Singapore dollars
Audemars Piguet watch worth over 51,000 Singapore dollars
The court stated that no items were lost thanks to the timely intervention of the victim's wife.
"MISTAKE" DEFENSE NOT ACCEPTED
The police reported that Liu did not cooperate during the investigation and tried to portray the theft attempt as a "mistake." However, it was emphasized that Liu's bag was completely different in appearance and material from the victim's bag.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Cheah Wenjie requested a sentence of up to 20 months for Liu. Wenjie stated that the increasing theft cases in Singapore's national airline would harm the airline's and the country's tourism reputation.
SIMILAR INCIDENT OCCURRED MONTHS AGO
This decision came after another Chinese national, Zhang Kun, was sentenced to 10 months in prison for theft on a Scoot Airlines flight in May. Zhang was caught stealing a passenger's backpack from the overhead compartment on a Kuala Lumpur–Singapore flight on March 16.