S'porean man, 32, misappropriated S$39,807 from inflight sales while he was crew member

Former Scoot cabin crew member Luqman Hakim Shahfawi, 32, was sentenced to seven months’ jail after misappropriating nearly S$40,000 in inflight food and beverage sales over multiple flights, The Straits Times (ST) reported.

He pleaded guilty to one amalgamated charge of criminal breach of trust as an employee. A similar charge was taken into consideration during sentencing.

Misappropriated cash across hundreds of occasions

Court documents stated that Luqman misappropriated over S$22,000 on 210 occasions between April 2024 and March 2025 while working as a cabin crew member and Complex Leader with Scoot.

Another S$17,807.10 misappropriated on 156 occasions between July 2023 and March 2024 was also taken into consideration during sentencing.

In total, the offences involved nearly S$40,000 in cash collections from onboard sales.

As a Complex Leader, Luqman was responsible for supervising cabin crew members and depositing inflight sales proceeds into the airline’s secure collection system within 48 hours of each flight.

Instead, he failed to deposit the money and kept the cash.

Offences began after he lost two cash collection bags

Investigations found that the offences began after Luqman lost two cash collection bags following a flight in 2023.

He did not report the loss to his supervisors.

Court documents stated that he later continued keeping subsequent cash proceeds after flights, as he was worried the earlier loss would be discovered.

He eventually used the misappropriated money to repay debts to unlicensed moneylenders.

No restitution had been made at the time of the investigation.

Arrested after Scoot alerted police

A Scoot representative filed a police report on Mar. 20, 2025, after Luqman admitted to misappropriating the funds.

He was arrested the following day and later released on bail.

Under Section 408 of the Penal Code, criminal breach of trust by an employee carries a jail term of up to 15 years or a fine.

According to sentencing submissions by the prosecution, the offences involved repeated conduct over an extended period and multiple occasions, which increased the seriousness of the case.

According to ST, Luqman is expected to begin his sentence on Apr. 24.

Top image via Scoot