Man jailed for stealing 120k from fellow passenger on a flight from HK to S’pore

In one of the worst cases of theft on board a plane, a man who stole cash worth about $120,000 from a fellow passenger on a Singapore Airlines flight was sentenced to 30 months' jail on June 21.

- Samuel Devaraj

Chinese national Peng Hui, 54, pleaded guilty to four charges, including one for theft and one for bringing into Singapore cash over the legal limit without a declaration.

Deputy public prosecutors Eric Hu and Tung Shou Pin said the victim was a Singaporean jeweller who had gone to Bangkok and Hong Kong for two trade fairs.

He left Hong Kong on March 5, for Singapore on Flight SQ899, and had in his backpack the sales proceeds from the fairs US$131,100 (S$177,300) and HK$122,000 (S$21,200) in cash, as well as cash in other currencies with a total value of about $20,000.

He placed the bag in the overhead compartment that was just behind his seat, with the zipped compartment that held the cash left unlocked.