On a flight from Jakarta to Bali, a 22-year-old Australian had money stolen from his backpack in the overhead bin. The suspects, two Chinese nationals aged 31 and 28, were detained at a hotel in Kuta.
They were on the same Batik Air flight but sat in different seats. The Australian moved to the back of the cabin, leaving his backpack in the overhead bin. One of the detained men took money out of it and hid it under his jacket.
Another passenger noticed the theft and filmed it on their phone. The Australian reported 1,500 dollars missing, and 800 was found on the suspects. They face up to seven years in prison.
Both say it was the first time they had stolen anything. Police are checking whether there are other victims: reports of similar thefts on planes have already come in, and the detained men have flown from Jakarta to Bali many times.
Another theft took place at Ngurah Rai Airport itself. In September, two porters aged 20 and 23 took 3,200 dollars from an unlocked suitcase in the area where checked baggage is sorted. Some of the money went on an iPhone.
The porters were tracked down using camera footage. Police travelled to Lombok to pick up one of them. In October, a colleague of theirs had already been detained at the airport for stealing from a passenger’s backpack.
Police advise against leaving money and documents in the overhead bin and recommend keeping them in a small bag on your lap or under the seat in front of you. For the same reason, they ask passengers not to put valuables in checked baggage, and if that can’t be avoided, to lock the suitcase or have it wrapped in plastic film.
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