Thai woman shares experience in helping airline catch thief on plane

A Thai woman issued a warning to air travellers, recounting her experience in helping an airline to catch a thief who stole money from a fellow passenger during a flight from Bangkok to Hong Kong.

A Facebook user, Kanya Chumsana, shared her experience of witnessing a theft and aiding in the arrest to a Facebook group called Travelling in Europe by Yourself (เที่ยวยุโรปด้วยตัวเอง) on December 24. She revealed that the incident occurred on November 27, but she did not share it earlier because she was worried about being criticised for her use of English.

Kanya explained that she left Thailand for Hong Kong at about 3am on the day. She sat next to the window, her friend sat in the middle, and the suspicious man whose nationality was not revealed, sat on the walkway.

Kanya said that the suspicious man kept moving around, and this annoyed her friend. So the friend asked for a new seat and moved. She stayed in her seat and the middle seat was empty, so she was able to observe everything the man did.

After the lights went out, Kanya saw the man buy a bag from an overhead compartment, take something out of the bag and keep it in the same place. It would have been normal if the bag was his, but it was not. Kanya saw the real owner of the bag pick it up to get a pen, and this made her realise that the man must be a thief.

Kanya decided to write a note to inform the flight attendant of the theft. She said she was afraid and worried because of her language skills. She plucked up the courage and wrote a note…

“Please check!!! I see passenger No. 41C open bag other passenger and keep something. I thing him open bag passenger No.42H.”

Kanya’s English skills were more than enough for communication. The cabin crew received the note and nodded once to let Kanya know she understood the situation.

English skills questioned, courage praised

The flight attendant came to the victim and questioned him about the missing items, but the victim did not notice the theft until the plane had landed. All passengers were informed of the theft and asked to wait for the police.

Police officers arrived 15 to 20 minutes after the plane landed and arrested the thief. Kanya revealed that the thief stared at her before leaving because he knew she was the complainant. Kanya also participated in a police interview before enjoying a trip around Hong Kong. She added that the thief stole money, but did not reveal the amount.

Kanya revealed that she initially did not want to share the story because there must be some netizens who would criticise her English language skills, and that was true. Some netizens did, but she did not focus on that and was happy to issue a warning to others.

Many netizens encouraged Kanya’s use of English in the comment session and praised her for her courage. Others criticised Kanya for issuing a warning to other travellers. The comments criticising her language skills were reported and deleted by the group administrator.

Netizens commented

“I appreciate your courage! I read and understood it. The flight attendant understood it too. This means the tour communication is successful!”

“Thank you for sharing this”.

“Language is for communication. The receiver understands that is enough. Good job!”

“You are so clever and brave! Language is not a measure of intelligence. I would be very confused if I were in a situation like yours”.

“Ignore these negative comments. You are brave and so smart!”