A Chinese woman has been arrested on theft charges after she picked up a bag that had been dropped by a man at Suvarnabhumi airport and put it inside her luggage.
Lyu Wenjuan, 46, of China, was apprehended at around 1.30am in the airport’s waiting area for outbound passengers. Police and airport officials seized 1,441 US dollars, or about 44,116 baht, a stolen mobile phone and other documents in her hand luggage.
The arrest came after Iranian passenger Mohammad Abbas Hamzeh, 29, filed a complaint with Suvarnabhumi airport police that he had lost his belt bag containing cash, a mobile phone and personal documents while walking to the departure lounge on the fourth floor.
Police and airport security officials checked footage from CCTV, which showed the tourist’s belt bag dropped on the floor and was then picked up by a woman walking past. She put the belt bag in her luggage and then walked towards the waiting zone for outbound passengers.
Speaking via an interpreter, the Chinese passenger insisted she did not steal the bag, but just picked it up as she was not aware who owned it.
The woman was charged with theft at the airport. The offence carries a jail term of 1-5 years and/or a fine of 2,000-10,000 baht. She was held in police custody at the airport police station.
