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SINGAPORE: Minutes before Inspector Imran Mohd Hajar's flight back to Singapore was due to take off, he noticed a man behaving suspiciously just a row behind him.
"He was walking around looking for something, which is unusual for me, especially when we are about to take-off five minutes to 10 minutes before," the deputy team leader of the Jurong East Neighbourhood Police Centre, Clementi Division told reporters on Wednesday (Jun 4).
The 47-year-old police officer was returning home after a four-day trip to Kuala Lumpur with his wife and daughter.
The man rummaged through a sling bag in the overhead compartment for about one to two minutes before allegedly taking some items from it. He then transferred them into an airline bag, the police officer said.
"At that point in time, we could not confirm that the bag belonged to him, but we continued to observe till we landed in Singapore," he added.
But upon landing, the sling bag was retrieved by a female passenger instead, who got off the plane before INSP Imran. The man was no longer on the plane.
The police officer later spotted the man, who was with an acquaintance, at a smoking area at the transit lounge. He noticed the airline bag from earlier being passed between the two men.
"That's where my policing instincts said that something is wrong somewhere," INSP Imran said, adding that he took a photo of the two men.
Asked why he did not confront the men then, the police officer said he wanted to first make sure that items were missing from the sling bag.
He also pointed out that the man he saw on the flight was a foreigner and did not want to abruptly question him.
"(I gave him) the benefit of the doubt."
TWO CHINESE NATIONALS CHARGED
INSP Imran's next step was to find the owner of the bag. He searched "high and low" for her and went to the baggage conveyor belt for the flight, in hopes that she had luggage to pick up.
His guess turned out to be right and he approached the woman to verify if any of her items were missing. The woman realised that some cash and two bank cards were gone.
INSP Imran said he believed the victim was a Malaysian and had just started working in Singapore.
"She was traumatised, and subsequently, my wife managed to calm her down and told her 'don't worry, we will assist you in whatever we can'," he said.
The couple brought the woman to an Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) officer, who referred them to a duty officer.
INSP Imran shared the photos he had taken of the two men, and the Airport Police Division was roped in to search for the suspects.
They were arrested on Monday after the police were alerted to the incident at about 8.50pm.
Using information provided by INSP Imran, his wife and closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage, officers from the Airport Police Division established the identity of the man and arrested him at a lounge in the transit area of Changi Airport Terminal 1.
The two debit cards belonging to the female passenger were discarded in a rubbish bin in an area where the two men had travelled through before their arrest.
Two Chinese nationals were charged on Wednesday with the alleged theft on a Scoot flight.
Wang Wei, 40, and Liu Xitang, 35, were accused of stealing S$169 (US$131) and two debit cards from the victim, according to charge sheets.
The public prosecutor asked for both men to be remanded for a week, with permission to take them out for investigation purposes such as a scene visit.
If convicted, the men may be jailed for up to three years, fined, or both.
Commander of Airport Police Division, Assistant Commissioner of Police M Malathi, said the two observant passengers - INSP Imran and his wife - played a "crucial role" in helping the police and the victim.
"Their prompt reporting and detailed testimonies aided in the swift arrest of the suspects and substantiation of the crime, which is inherently challenging due to the transient and time-sensitive nature of air travel," she added.
Recounting his actions during the incident, INSP Imran said: "It's just an instinct that we have (as) police officers for many years, and also the training that we received through our policing service."
The police officer also said that he tells his children to stay vigilant and be aware of their surroundings during flights and on public transport.
"On long-haul flights, we will take turns to actually be awake to look out for our personal items. I think this is one of the best ways to actually deter a crime (from taking) place in the flight itself."
