Singapore: A Chinese national has been remanded in Singapore on charges of attempting to steal from co-passengers on a flight from Cambodia to the city-state, days after his compatriot was charged for a similar offence.
Yi Huaichun, 44, was first charged on December 16 and has been remanded. He faces three charges, Channel News Asia reported.
When asked to indicate his plea on Friday, he said he was not guilty.
Yi's case comes after another Chinese national, 52-year-old Zhang Xiuqiang, was charged on Monday after stealing about SGD31,000 (USD23,260) from three passengers on a Singapore-bound Scoot flight from Vietnam.
Yi is accused of trying to steal from three passengers while on Cambodia Airways flight KR751 from Phnom Penh on the morning of December 15.
He allegedly tried to steal from a man's bag around 9.40 am before attempting to steal from a backpack belonging to another person a few minutes later.
Yi is also accused of attempting to commit theft from a black leather bag from a third person less than an hour later, according to the report.
Yi's charges are read with Section 3(2) of the Tokyo Convention Act, which allows Singapore to prosecute a person for an act that is an offence in Singapore if the suspect committed such an act on board any aircraft that subsequently lands in Singapore with the suspect on board.
He will return to court for a pre-trial conference in January. If convicted of attempted theft, Yi faces up to three years in jail, a fine, or both.
Published 22 December 2023, 13:14 IST