SUVARNABHUMI — The Suvarnabhumi Airport Tourist Police investigation team apprehended two Chinese suspects for in-flight theft. An American witness and several victims confirmed seeing the theft, with substantial evidence securing the case.
At 10:30 a.m. on April 10, Tourist Police at Suvarnabhumi Airport were notified by Air Macau staff on flight NX996 about a theft incident on the aircraft. They coordinated with Suvarnabhumi Airport security and airport police to investigate.
Upon arrival, they met Mr. Tang a 45-year-old Chinese national (from Macau) who was the victim. He informed police that while the plane was preparing to land at Suvarnabhumi Airport, he was alerted by Mr. Ruggles, a 67-year-old American witness seated nearby, who saw a bespectacled Chinese man searching through a black backpack in the overhead compartment during the flight.
Mr. Ruggles observed the suspect remove a plastic bag from the backpack. After the plane arrived at Suvarnabhumi Airport, it was discovered that the suspect was not the owner of the bag, but rather Tang was. Ruggles quickly advised Tang to check if his belongings were intact, and it was found that 30,000 Thai baht ($886) had disappeared from the bag. Tang then notified the airline staff onboard.
Airline staff investigated and identified Mr. Han, 54, and Mr. Wang 46, both Chinese nationals, behaving suspiciously. When Mr. Wang noticed the staff’s suspicion, he placed the 30,000 Thai baht in a plastic bag, threw it on the aircraft floor, and attempted to persuade airline staff not to inform the police.
Several other passengers also confirmed seeing both men get up from their seats to search through passengers’ belongings on the flight. Airline staff coordinated with Suvarnabhumi Tourist Police to inspect and detain both suspects, bringing them in for questioning at Division 3, Tourist Police Bureau 1, Suvarnabhumi Airport.
Later, Miss Ding, a 29-year-old Chinese national who traveled on the same flight, reported to Tourist Police at Suvarnabhumi Airport that upon reaching her hotel, she discovered her bag had been tampered with and 50,000 baht in cash was missing. She immediately returned to Suvarnabhumi Airport to report to police.
During questioning, Miss Ding confirmed that one of the two suspects had been seated next to her on the flight. Police conducted a thorough search of the suspects and their belongings, eventually finding the missing 50,000 baht ($1,477) hidden on one of them. Additionally, they discovered various foreign currencies, believed to be stolen from victims on other flights. These items were seized for further investigation to identify additional victims. Both suspects denied all charges during the arrest.
Background checks revealed that both suspects were on a watchlist of individuals with high-risk behaviors for theft on aircraft, monitored by the Division 3, Tourist Police Bureau 1 investigation team.
The arresting officers charged both suspects with theft on public transport and recorded witness statements from passengers on the flight as evidence before proceeding to return all stolen property to the affected tourists.
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