Hong Kong police have arrested two men in a week for allegedly stealing cash from passengers' overhead luggage on two inbound flights from Vietnam.
The force said on Saturday that the latest arrest had taken place on Friday and involved a 61-year-old man suspected of stealing 10 million Vietnamese dong, or about HK$3,060 (13,400 baht), in cash from another passenger on a flight from Ho Chi Minh City.
The alleged victim had discovered his overhead bag had been taken and found the cash inside was missing after recovering his luggage.
Police officers were called and they arrested the 61-year-old man after retrieving the missing cash from his luggage.
The suspect was still in custody as of Sunday. The force's Lantau criminal investigation unit is following up on the case.
Officers also arrested a 38-year-old man on Wednesday last week for allegedly stealing US$4,500 (153,000 baht) from another passenger's overhead bag on a flight from Da Nang.
Hong Kong recorded 169 cases of in-flight thefts involving HK$4.32 million (19 million baht) worth of valuables in the first 10 months of 2024.
The figure exceeded the annual number of reports in each of the tourism boom years of 2018 and 2019, which only recorded 103 and 147 such cases, respectively.
About 70% of the thefts were on short-haul flights arriving from countries such as Vietnam, Malaysia, Thailand and India.
Another 20% were from locations such as the United Arab Emirates, Turkey and Qatar. Other departure points included mainland China, Japan, South Korea, the United States, Canada, Australia and Switzerland.
Secretary for Security Chris Tang Ping-keung previously said most of the valuables stolen were either cash, expensive jewellery and watches, or credit cards.
He promised to step up measures to combat such crimes, adding that the rise in cases could be related to increased efforts to urge the public to file reports.
The force said on Saturday that the latest arrest had taken place on Friday and involved a 61-year-old man suspected of stealing 10 million Vietnamese dong, or about HK$3,060 (13,400 baht), in cash from another passenger on a flight from Ho Chi Minh City.
The alleged victim had discovered his overhead bag had been taken and found the cash inside was missing after recovering his luggage.
Police officers were called and they arrested the 61-year-old man after retrieving the missing cash from his luggage.
The suspect was still in custody as of Sunday. The force's Lantau criminal investigation unit is following up on the case.
Officers also arrested a 38-year-old man on Wednesday last week for allegedly stealing US$4,500 (153,000 baht) from another passenger's overhead bag on a flight from Da Nang.
Hong Kong recorded 169 cases of in-flight thefts involving HK$4.32 million (19 million baht) worth of valuables in the first 10 months of 2024.
The figure exceeded the annual number of reports in each of the tourism boom years of 2018 and 2019, which only recorded 103 and 147 such cases, respectively.
About 70% of the thefts were on short-haul flights arriving from countries such as Vietnam, Malaysia, Thailand and India.
Another 20% were from locations such as the United Arab Emirates, Turkey and Qatar. Other departure points included mainland China, Japan, South Korea, the United States, Canada, Australia and Switzerland.
Secretary for Security Chris Tang Ping-keung previously said most of the valuables stolen were either cash, expensive jewellery and watches, or credit cards.
He promised to step up measures to combat such crimes, adding that the rise in cases could be related to increased efforts to urge the public to file reports.
