Chinese man faces trial for stealing $1,700 on HCMC – Da Nang flight

By Hai Duyen June 1, 2025 | 07:02 pm PT

A Chinese national faces trial for allegedly stealing US$1,500 and VND5 million ($192) in cash from the luggage of another passenger during a flight from Ho Chi Minh City to Da Nang.

The HCMC People's Procuracy has indicted Chen Guangdong for theft and referred the case to the city-level court for trial within this month.

According to the indictment, during a flight on Dec. 24 last year, he was seated next to a Vietnamese man named Son and they placed their luggage next to each other's in the overhead compartment.

Chen waited until Son fell asleep and secretly searched his bag, taking a wad of cash from his wallet.

Another passenger thought Chen was acting suspiciously and recorded the incident on their phone.

The footage was shown to Son, who checked his belongings and discovered the missing money. He then alerted the flight attendants.

Chen, realizing he was about to be exposed, attempted to return the money to Son's backpack but was caught in the act by the flight crew and other passengers.

He was apprehended with the cash and handed over to the airport authorities, who documented the incident and forwarded the case to the police for investigation.