Woman shares what she saw on Jeju-S'pore flight where alleged thief took S$1,193 in cash from woman's bag in luggage compartment

A woman who stepped forward to call out a man who allegedly stole money from a bag, stored in a Singapore-bound plane's overhead luggage compartment, has revealed what happened on board the aircraft.

According to Shin Min Daily News, the 31-year-old woman (pictured above), surnamed Pan (transliteration), shared her eyewitness account on social media platform Xiaohongshu.

Alleged perpetrator acted suspiciously

The incident occurred at around 1pm on Tuesday, Feb. 4, on board flight TR813 from Jeju to Singapore.

Pan claimed that prior to boarding the plane, she had already noticed the alleged perpetrator behaving suspiciously at the airport.

She claimed that the man was apparently eyeing her then.

After Pan boarded the plane and sat in the middle seat, she said the man sat in another row nearby.

Awoken by noise

Pan said she subsequently fell asleep on board the plane, but was awoken by a noise about half an hour before landing.

She said she saw the alleged thief rummaging through the overhead luggage compartment.

Pan said: "I saw him trying to take my bag, and then he probably saw money in another woman's bag and took it away quickly."

Victim confronted man

Her instincts were corroborated as another woman on the plane, whose items were apparently being tampered with and removed, then stopped the man and questioned what he was doing.

The alleged perpetrator denied doing anything.

Pan said: "When the two sides were in a deadlock, I was still hesitating whether to step forward. This was the first time I encountered such an incident."

She added: "I didn't know if the man was a repeat offender, and I was worried that he might suddenly take out a weapon, but I finally stepped forward."

Passengers prevented from leaving plane

After Pan purportedly called out the man's actions, the flight attendants informed the police about the situation on board the plane.

All passengers were made to remain in the aircraft cabin as a result upon arrival at Changi Airport, with their disembarkation delayed by about an hour before they were allowed to get off the plane.

Pan said: "It is believed that the victim had taken money from her bag in the luggage compartment when she purchased a meal mid-flight, which may have attracted the attention of the alleged perpetrator."

Together with the assistance of the cabin crew, they managed to locate the missing stack of cash amounting to US$885 (S$1,193) in another overheard compartment near where the man traversed during the incident, the Singapore police subsequently revealed in a news release.

The police said they were alerted to the incident at about 2pm.

The accused, a 30-year-old male Chinese national, Zhang Youqi, was arrested for his suspected involvement in a case of theft onboard an aircraft.

He was charged in court on Feb. 6 for the offence of theft.

He is out on bail of S$10,000.

His case will be heard in court again.

Top photos via Shin Min Daily News & Unsplash