Chinese Man Jailed for Stealing Credit Card Mid-Flight and Spending $69K on Jewelry

A Chinese man has been sentenced to prison for stealing a passenger’s credit card during a flight from Hong Kong to Incheon last May and using it to purchase jewelry worth 100 million won (approximately $69,100).

On Wednesday, the Incheon District Court sentenced the 52-year-old man to two and a half years for theft and fraud.

After stealing a credit card and $5,000 from a fellow Chinese passenger during the flight, the man entered South Korea and met up with two accomplices. The group then visited several jewelry stores in Seoul’s Jongno district, where they purchased over 100 million won (around $69,100) worth of jewelry using the stolen credit card.

The trio fled to China, but they were arrested two months later when they attempted to re-enter South Korea. This time, they were caught after stealing $540 using the same method. At the time of his arrest, the defendant denied any involvement in the crime. However, police were able to link him to the theft by finding the DNA of a Korean victim on the stolen money, which helped confirm his role in the crime.

The Incheon District Court explained, “Although the defendant partially denied the charges, the evidence clearly supports a guilty verdict. The nature and execution of the crimes were particularly severe, and the defendant’s behavior following the crimes is troubling. Furthermore, the victims have not received any restitution.”

When determining the sentence, the court acknowledged that it considered the defendant’s expression of remorse and the fact that he had no prior criminal record in South Korea.