Thefts committed during flights in the Singapore aircraft hit an all-time high in 2013.

Unsuspecting passengers flying on Singapore Airlines (SIA), SilkAir and Tigerair had money and other valuables stolen -- by one particular group of people.

Figures provided by the Attorney-General's Chambers (AGC) showed: Up till Dec. 30 last year, 47 people -- all foreigners -- were arrested for stealing on flights.

[quip float="pqright"]Out of these, 41 people were from Henan, China[/quip].

In 2012, a total of 36 people were arrested for the offence. Of these, 29 of them were from the province.

This is a suggestion that a syndicate might be at work.

How the syndicate operates

Court papers have provided a glimpse into how the syndicates operate.

The syndicate will work in pairs and fly to Singapore from mainland China, Macau or Hong Kong, transiting here for a day or less before flying to South-east Asian countries.

During flights, bags will be removed from overhead compartments as one of them will steal the cash and other items and hand them to the accomplice.

Stolen cash have been found stashed away in aircraft toilets in some cases.

[quip float="pqright"]One SilkAir air stewardess even caught a culprit in the act and filmed the theft on her mobile phone[/quip] in June last year.

The three local airlines said they are taking precautionary measures, such as advising their passengers to safeguard their valuables at all times.

Tigerair, for example, even said it is prepared to ban known criminals and suspects from its flights.

The AGC said it is monitoring the trend closely and will make the punishment stiffer if necessary.

The maximum punishment for such thefts is a three-year jail term and a $10,000 fine. The stiffest punishment that the courts have meted out so far is nine months' jail in July.

Henan is already suffering a bad reputation in China

Henan, located in the central part of China, is a land-locked province.

[quip float="pqright"]With 100 million people, it is the most populous province, but its per capita income is among the lowest[/quip] in the country.

Associate Professor Li Ming-jiang of the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies said Henan natives already have a bad reputation in China.

According to a Wall Street Journal article, unsavory terms like "thieves, cheats, fools, bumpkins" were frequently used by other Chinese to describe the people from the rural Chinese province.

Hence, a public-relations campaign was conducted previously by writers and the Henan government to defend the honour of the province, including a book about it: "Henan Ren Re Shei Le?" or "Whom Did Henan People Offend?"

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