A man on from a Hong Kong to Singapore flight was arrested on arrival for stealing $80,000 from another passenger who found that their cash was missing after getting off of the aircraft on Tuesday.
According to Singapore police, the “victim had placed his bag in the overhead compartment but did not see [a] suspicious person rummaging through his bag.” Impressively, they caught the perp quickly and he faces three years in jail.
Airport Police Division officers followed up using flight records and worked together with officers from SPF’s Commercial Affairs Department to establish the man’s identity.
The authorities found that the man had purportedly made four remittance transactions amounting to S$37,897.70, believed to be part of the stolen cash, at People’s Park Complex in Chinatown.
TSA screeners steal from passengers at checkpoints. One TSA screener even stole a CNN camera and sold it on eBay (he got caught because he forgot to remove the CNN stickers first).
Baggage handlers steal from checked bags. oneworld’s head of finance allegedly stole $2.2 million. And a former Miss USA stole noise cancelling headphones.
I’ve even reported on a ring of thieves stealing from passenger bags in the overhead bin. An Emirates flight attendant even stole from passengers who weren’t holding onto their wallets. And of course people steal lingerie out of luggage.
Here are some things you can do to avoid being a victim yourself,
- Don’t let your items out of sight at the security checkpoint. If a screener wants to move you away, insist that you be allowed to watch your stuff, that you can collect your belongings or that they bring your items to you.
- Mark your bags clearly and don’t use luggage that looks like everyone else’s bags, because sometimes theft is inadvertent (and when someone realizes they have the wrong bag they may not return it).
- Board early enough to get overhead bin space above your head, so you’re more likely to notice someone taking your belongings during the flight.
- Carry the most valuable items on your person, or in a bag that remains underneath the seat in front of you.
What do you do to protect yourself while at the airport or on board?
(HT: @crucker)
Nice recommendations, Gary, that clearly apply to any personal property of value. Your 4th one technically covers the adage that you should never ever check bags with valuable personal property inside, but it’s so critical that I would have listed it separately.
One final comment is sad to say, but Civil Forfeiture of Cash by Federal Authorities is wildly out of control in the USA right now. It should have been banned outright by the Supreme Court, but for whatever reason it still exists. Ther are tons of stories of people carrying cash through Airport Checkpoints which are simply robbed of it, technically legally, and they are forced to spend months and years trying to get it back. My advice would be to never have more than $ 200 on your person when flying, no exceptions.
As a general rule, when I travel I typically carry $2-5000 in cash for emergencies, divided 1/4 in on person and the rest in my carry on backpack. Internationally, I also usually wear an AP or Rolex that can be easily pawned if need be as well. Worst case scenario, I lose a $30k watch and some cash, no biggie.
I’ve never had anything go wrong (knock on wood), so I end up using the cash for “other stuff.”
I ordered a comfortable pair of pickpocket proof pants. They have two large zippered button pockets on the front. I bury any large amounts of cash in my carry-on, and watch it closely. Once I’m through security, I put passports in one pocket and cash in the other. It doesn’t come out till my destination. I keep a few hundred dollars in local currency in a wallet and another pocket fortaxis and such.
2 comments:
1. Best way to avoid having $80,000 in cash stolen is not to carry that much which, BTW, bringing in that much cash is a violation of Singapore immigration/customs regulations – I was just there last week so went through the arrival card/health certification process.
2. In addition to the 3 years in prison and likely a fine, canning is also typical punishment for theft.
Frankly I love the Singapore approach to crime (e.g., 7 years for shoplifting and 30 different capital offenses (hanging is their method) including drug dealing).
One of the safest countries in the world and IMHO the US has a lot to learn from them on how to deter criminal behavior.
Only a moron or crook would carry $80,000 cash.
@James your AP & Rolex each have a serial number and are easily traced. I remember wearing my AP returning home from Aruba years ago and had an aweful time because they wanted me to prove I’d not purchased it in Aruba. I’d had it many years and of course didn’t travel with a BOS 🙂 Nowadays everyone is so lax I am sure they couldn’t give a woot! Always carry my passport with cash in several currencies in my purse and carefully watch and walk beside it when they screen it! Happy travels my friend.
@RS Mallory – rookie move on my part. I’m going to follow your lead and switch to some of that cash to Euros. I’m not sure what other currencies make sense. Also, I learned not to travel with a “luxury” branded passport holder (or better yet, nothing that’s overstated).
Another thing: Lock your bags. Sure, a lock won’t stop someone from walking off with a bag but it does make it pretty hard for sneaky rummaging.
@James, glad to provide value my friend. It depends on where you travel frequently. I use Euros, Pesos, a little USD & Aussie $$ too. Stopped using my LV luggage years ago; it’s an invitation to thieves, as are the lovely passport folios you mentioned 🙂 Happy travels my friend.
There are 25 different currencies called “dollar”.
It’s not nothing, but 80k Singaporean dollars is a little less than 60kUSD.
I’ve also used a money belt which came in handy when I was robbed by a very light fingered thief on a bus in Colombia. He got some of my cash (which was in several pockets) but never noticed this accessory.
How many bags do you suppose the thief had to rummage through before he found 80k? How many passengers saw him rifle through multiple bags and said nothing? I know East Asians can be reluctant to confront, but it seems SOMEBODY would have said something.
@James … why do you Need a watch ? think about it ? Myself , I was issued one in the Army , and they taught us how to find direction with it (if without a compass) , but other than that …
@scudder, if you would have read the linked article, you would have learned the stolen cash was S$107,000 or approximately US$80,000. You’re right, it’s not nothing.
Surprised a TSA agent didn’t get to it first as they are thieves as well….
Luggage overhead you does not provide an optimal viewing rather than across the aisle above the same row…..
Always have my carry on bag locked except for the backpack that’s usually under the seat and my feet are touching it.
Start messing with my feet and you won’t like the outcome. We do have locks for the backpack which we use if it goes into the overhead
The “no big deal” comment is EXTREMELY braggadocious!
For the third bullet, I’d change it to placing valuables in the overhead bin across the aisle so you can actually see if someone is going through your bag(s).
@Patti … what if you lock everything and lose the keys ?
Alert
We had multiple keys hidden in different luggage when we used key ones. Now we use number locks.
One time we had 1 number lock which wouldn’t open but we travel with a small tool bag (see divers) and I clipped it open in no time.
And we both wear dive watches because our phones don’t always catch up as fast, especially in some foreign countries.
And we are diver/snorkelers. Taking a phone underwater invites trouble.
Hope *AC means caning. Canning might be a bit excessive.
LOL- it’s not illegal to bring in more than SGD $20K into Singapore, just need to file a form. So an omission of paperwork that probably will require a small fine and no jail time. If they catch you at Changi, there’s even a judge in the building- even after processing, still get to town faster than from JFK!
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/singapore/bringing-large-sums-cash-singapore-without-declaring-man-fined-870211
View From The Right Wing forgot a few key ones:
Try go choose airports with private screeners since everything the government does is bad.
Try to avoid connections in woke liberal blue cities because local leaders condone theft and crime and theft is more likely not to be investigated or prosecuted. Plus they tend to have inclusionary hiring policies, which makes your readers uncomfortable having to be around diverse people.
Select airlines with non-unionized crew because if there’s no union dues, they keep more of their paycheck, so there’s less need to steal from passengers to make ends meet. Plus unions are blue so they condone stealing.
I always lock my personal item bag and my carry on when I get on the plane. It is a bit annoying to have to unlock it to access stuff but I was on a flight once where someone had their laptop taken out of their carry on when they slept. Also I always take my little travelon purse crossbody – pickpocket/slash proof. It locks. The strap has wire in it to deter slashing and inside are tether clips so you can clip in a coin purse and/or keys so even if they did get your bag open because you forgot to activate the latch then they can’t take out your stuff. Maybe overkill but after having my bag slashed in Athens – cut right off my shoulder while holding my young sons hand I just never take chances anymore.
Wow the paranoia and fear here of something with such low probability is bit of a surprise. Life is fleeting and you’ll be dead before you know it. I hope you’ll live it without fear.
@RS MALLORY: doesn’t matter if they have serial numbers . He was talking about wearing a Rolex that HE could pawn for cash if needed.
@Dave: I doubt there are any TSA staff involved with flights from HK to Singapore….
Alert: exactly .. but then, people who own $30,000 watches don’t wear them to tell time with…
@DOCNTX: right.. but just imagine how little crime there would be if standard penalties for even minor offenses were things like canning? Hahaha…
@UNCLE JEFF: yeah, yeah, yeah.. everyone knows everything is the fault of Biden/Benghazi/Clinton/Obama/libturds/wokeness/socialism…. Just go have another hamburDer..
@Kluge in the spirit of having to take off shoes AND watches and then being lifted, or stolen, the serial numbers on watches is NOT a moot point. In addition, I beg to differ with your statement “people who own $30,000 watches don’t wear them to tell time with…”….. Why else would I wear a watch no matter what the price? I own an AP and BM and Movado and since they are each a TIME PIECE, I wear them so I know what time it is 🙂 How arrogant to assume that because a time piece is not a Timex it is not worn for telling the time. Have a lovely day.
@RS Mallory:
> I beg to differ with your statement “people who own $30,000 watches don’t wear them to tell time with…”….. Why else would I wear a watch no matter what the price? I own an AP and BM and Movado and since they are each a TIME PIECE, I wear them so I know what time it is
Just because they can tell the time doesn’t mean that that’s why people wear them. An expensive watch does not tell time any better than a cheap watch. Thus anyone who wears an expensive watch does so for reasons other than telling time. A $30k watch proclaims “I can afford a $30k watch” far more than it tells time. And it also screams “pickpockets, come here!”
@Loren – in 2024 I would argue NO ONE wears a watch to tell time. Cell phones do a very good job and if people wear a watch routinely it is likely an Apple Watch (or similar such technology) that does a lot more then tell time. I have a very nice Patek Philippe watch I bought years ago. I only wear it rarely and it is absolutely a fashion statement with the right suit or for the proper occasion. It is there as an accent piece and not a time piece. Also, please own very nice watches (some of which cost over $1,000,000 each) as investments or simply as collectables. Wearing a watch simply to tell time is not something anyone should need to do in 2024 and I feel sorry for people that still need to strap on a watch similar to figure out what time it is.
Thank you for the gentle reminder that a fool and his money are soon parted.
Thieves abound in luggage handling, security, waiting areas, hat racks, etc. I don’t trust staff or crew. I don’t trust security ot TSA. I don’t trust friends nor family.
Luckily, I am a light sleeper. I can’t really sleep on aircraft, not even ultra- long-haul flights.
Sad that cash marks you as a criminal suspect without various and sundry government forms filled out.
The perp probably noticed the cash before boarding or while boarding.
As for carrying cash internationally, I am always below $10,000 due to the pain in the butt of reporting larger amounts at LAX and I suspect other airports are the same. I did carry more in travelers cheques once and had to report it. That wasted a lot of time and I am glad I went to LAX way early. I have several money belts that slip below my belt line in my pants and in some cases my shirt is also over the one I am wearing. I have some spending money elsewhere and sometimes some is set up as a honey pot.