Originally Posted by
invisible
I live in Singapore. Theft from overhead bins is underreported, but quite common occurrence on local regional routes - mainly between Indonesia/Malaysia and Vietnam/Hong Kong/China/Korea. This is due to the fact that a lot of people travel with large amount of cash. There are criminal syndicates operating/specializing on such activities.
This.
Had heard that the gangs are now well-established on long-haul routes ex-Asia too, in part because these tend to be overnight flights (when people are sleeping), but also because Mainland travellers carry large amounts of cash out of China (and not always travelling directly).