16-1-2024 (HONG KONG) A Hong Kong man, identified only as Mr. Chow, experienced a distressing incident during a Hong Kong Airlines (HKA) flight to Osaka, where his money was covertly replaced with Indonesian rupiah. Mr. Chow, who was traveling with his girlfriend and a family member, boarded the red-eye flight from Hong Kong to Osaka with HK$50,000 (S$8,500) in his backpack. However, upon arrival in Japan, he discovered that only HK$1,500 remained.
According to Sing Tao Daily, Mr. Chow had bundled 100 HK$500 bills together with a rubber band in his backpack, intending to exchange the money for yen upon arrival in Japan. Initially, he placed the backpack under his seat, but a flight attendant requested that he store it in the overhead compartment instead.
Sitting in the last row of the plane, Mr. Chow found no space for his backpack in the compartment above him, which was filled with life vests. Consequently, he placed the bag a few seats away from him in another overhead compartment.
During the flight, Mr. Chow fell asleep. Upon reaching his destination and retrieving his backpack, he noticed that his stack of cash had fallen out. Unbeknownst to him, the thief had replaced the money with a thick stack of 2,000 Indonesian rupiah notes, worth HK$1 each, sandwiched between three HK$500 bills.
It was only later, while aboard a train in Japan, that Mr. Chow realized his money had been stolen. He also discovered that his credit card was missing and promptly cancelled it.
“The most cunning thing about the thief was that he covered the Indonesian money with Hong Kong money to create the illusion that my money was not gone,” Mr. Chow explained. “This made me miss the opportunity to expose the theft on the plane.”
After returning to Hong Kong, Mr. Chow filed a police report, which was confirmed by the local authorities. Hong Kong Airlines stated that if passengers’ bags are of a larger size, they may be asked to store them in the overhead compartment to prevent obstructions. The airline advised passengers to immediately inform cabin crew if any belongings are stolen, as arrangements can be made for police officers to investigate.
