Chinese fined $71 for stealing on Vietnam Airlines flight

A Chinese man who was caught red-handed stealing from a passenger on Wednesday aboard a Vietnam Airlines flight from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City has been fined VND1.5 million (US$71), Vietnamese police announced Thursday.

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Wang Xin Gao, 41, was discovered committing the theft while on board Vietnam Airlines (VNA) flight number VN257.

Wang stole a handbag from a passenger and rummaged it at the back of the plane.

A female passenger, also a VNA flight attendant, taped his entire act with her camera before informing the flight crew.

According to HCMC police, as the stolen handbag contained possessions worth under VND2 million (US$95), the minimum sum on which criminal penalty can be imposed on thieves, the man is punishable by a fine only.

VNA and the Vietnamese aviation security force have identified Wang as a member of a 10-people group of foreigners, mostly Chinese nationals, who purposefully travel on VNA flights to steal other passengers’ properties.

He is the fifth member of the group to be caught stealing other passengers’ possessions aboard VNA planes so far this year.

Wang’s passport shows that he has traveled many times to Southeast Asian countries. He usually stays for one day only in each country.

Lai Xuan Thanh, head of the Civil Aviation Administration of Vietnam, said on Thursday that pending an official announcement from the police regarding Wang’s punishment, his office will decide whether to add the Chinese to the list of passengers for whom VNA will not provide transport services, or work with related agencies to prohibit him from entering Vietnam.

Vietnam Airlines has given high priority to crime prevention since Hong Kong police issued warnings about thefts on certain flight routes to the special administrative region.

VNA, Vietnam’s national flag carrier, busted 18 such cases in 2012. It recorded a significant drop in the number of crimes in 2013.

Vietnam Airlines has advised their passengers on flights to China, Hong Kong, Laos, Cambodia, and Indonesia to keep a close watch on their hand luggage and not to put them in the wrong place.

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