A Chinese national who boarded a long-haul flight with the intent of targeting wealthy passengers has been sentenced to 20 months in prison after a failed theft attempt in the air.
The court heard that Liu Ming, 26, deliberately chose a business class seat on a Singapore Airlines service from Dubai to Singapore on August 7, planning to steal valuables from fellow travellers during the overnight journey.
Rather than acting at random, Liu positioned himself near his intended targets. He sat several rows ahead of a 52-year-old Azerbaijani passenger and directly in front of the man’s wife, whose belongings were stored in the same overhead area.
In the early hours of August 8, after meals had been cleared and cabin lighting was lowered, Liu stood up and removed the Azerbaijani passenger’s luggage from the overhead compartment. He carried the bag back toward his own seat while the victim slept.
The attempt was interrupted when the victim’s wife woke from a brief nap and saw the movement. She followed Liu, questioned him, and alerted cabin crew after failing to understand his explanation. Liu then returned the bag to its original place once he realised attention had been drawn to his actions.
When questioned by crew members, Liu claimed he had taken the luggage by accident, saying he had mistaken it for his own. Flight staff alerted airport personnel ahead of landing, and he was arrested on arrival at Changi Airport.
Investigators later established that the stolen bag contained valuables worth more than S$100,000. Items inside included cash, a Huawei laptop valued at about S$2,100, 56 cigars worth over S$5,400, a Chopard watch exceeding S$35,000, and an Audemars Piguet watch valued at more than S$51,000. Nothing was ultimately taken, as the confrontation occurred almost immediately.
Despite this, police told the court that Liu was uncooperative during investigations and continued to insist the incident was a misunderstanding. Evidence showed his own bag was visibly different in both material and appearance from the victim’s luggage.
Liu pleaded guilty to one count of theft. In seeking a custodial sentence, Deputy Public Prosecutor Cheah Wenjie asked for a term of up to 20 months, warning of broader consequences for aviation confidence. “The proliferation of theft offences on board Singapore’s national carrier would tarnish its reputation, and that of Singapore’s tourist industry,” he said.
The case follows another in-flight theft involving a Chinese national earlier this year. In May, Zhang Kun was jailed for 10 months after being caught stealing a backpack from an overhead compartment on a Kuala Lumpur–Singapore service operated by Scoot.
