SINGAPORE: Two men allegedly stole bank cards on the same Vietjet flight from Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, to Singapore and were each charged with theft on Oct 14.
Chinese nationals Shu Zaijun, 54, and Dong Bangjun, 59, are accused of committing the offences on Oct 12.
Court documents did not say whether they allegedly worked together to commit the crimes.
Shu is accused of stealing two debit cards from a passenger’s bag at around 8.30am that day.
About 30 minutes later, Dong allegedly stole a credit card from another passenger’s bag.
Shu’s case has been adjourned to Oct 16, while Dong’s case will be mentioned again on Oct 28.
If convicted, each man can be jailed for up to three years, fined, or both.
In an earlier statement, the police said officers had conducted an operation at Changi Airport Terminal 4 at about 9.45am on Oct 12.
The two men were arrested after three bank cards belonging to others were found on them.
In February, the police said in their annual crime brief that cases involving in-flight theft, an offence often linked to syndicates, rose from two people charged in 2024 to six in 2025.
The Straits Times also earlier reported that a spike in cabin theft cases in Asia has been blamed on members of organised crime groups who catch short-transit flights, including trips to Singapore, to steal small items from passengers.
In an interview with ST in 2025, Assistant Commissioner M. Malathi, commander of the Airport Police Division, said in-flight theft cases are difficult to detect and investigate.
She added: “A timely report is important for our officers to quickly track and trace the suspects and intercept them before they catch their next flight.”
Police declined to reveal where the syndicates operate from, but ST checks showed that four of the five people charged in 2025 over cabin theft were Chinese nationals.
