Mainland Chinese man arrested after allegedly stealing a Rolex worth HK$330,000 on a flight to Hong Kong

Hong Kong police have arrested a man from mainland China on a HK Express flight for allegedly stealing items including a Rolex watch worth HK$330,000 (US$42,321) and several thousand dollars in cash from a fellow passenger.

Police said on Monday that the 57-year-old man surnamed Chen was arrested the night before after officers received a report that the victim had allegedly been robbed of HK$5,000, US$200, 20 euros and one million Vietnamese dong.

The stolen items also included a watch and a bank card.

Police added that the victim packed the items into a handbag and placed them in an overhead bin upon boarding, but discovered they were missing after the plane landed.

Airport staff called police after the victim reported the incident to them and all passengers boarded a bus via a ramp.

“Several witnesses” identified the suspect and the lost items were hidden under a mat on the bus’s luggage rack, police added.

A man who said he was a passenger on flight UO561 from Da Nang to Hong Kong, which landed at 12:25 a.m. on Sunday, claimed to have witnessed the arrest and posted clips and photos of the incident on Facebook.

“All the passengers got off and boarded a bus when the driver suddenly locked the door without explanation and trapped us in the bus for about an hour,” he said.

“The air conditioning was on full blast and it was so cold – we banged on the doors but no one responded.”

The man said that after police officers arrived, a flight attendant came down and identified five mainland passengers, who were then brought back onto the plane after one passenger claimed some of her belongings were missing.

The Post has asked the airport authority and HK Express for comment.

In March, a 54-year-old man was arrested by Singapore authorities at Changi Airport for allegedly stealing S$107,000 (US$82,217) worth of cash from a fellow passenger on a flight from Hong Kong to the city-state.