An airline passenger has been charged with theft after $23,000 in cash was stolen out of people's luggage during a flight to Singapore

• A Chinese man has been charged by Singapore officials after passengers had over $20,000 in cash stolen.
• Three passengers had a total of $23,000 taken from them on the December 16 Scoot flight.

A Chinese passenger has been charged with three counts of theft by Singapore officials after over $23,000 was stolen from other passengers on a plane from Vietnam to Singapore, Channel News Asia reported Monday.

Three people on the December 16 flight from Ho Chi Minh City to Changi Airport, operated by budget airline Scoot, had a total of around S$31,000 ($23,300) taken from their luggage, the outlet reported.

52-year-old Zhang Ziuqiang has been charged with three counts of theft and could face up to three years in jail and a fine if found guilty.

Ziuqiang stands accused of stealing almost $21,000 in cash from a black haversack backpack, according to charge sheets viewed by CNA. He is accused of stealing a further $1,000 and almost $700 from an envelope in a grey bag, as well as $574 from another backpack, the charge sheet says.

He will remain under investigation and will return to court on December 22.

Scoot did not immediately respond to Business Insider's request for comment about the incident, sent outside regular working hours.

Scoot is a subsidiary of Singapore Airlines and considered the second best low cost carrier, according to a Skytrax ranking, BI previously reported.

In October, Hong Kong police warned that there has been a spike in theft on planes after having handled 13 cases of stolen cash and credit cards in the first nine months of 2023, per the South China Morning Post. There were only two incidents in 2022, one in 2021, and five in 2020.

Inspector Ho Hung-sing for airport intelligence and support urged passengers not to place valuables in overhead compartments and to carry cash and valuable items if they have to leave their seats, per SCMP.