Bag-handlers' arrest for theft
Jun 8, 2001, 9:23 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Nov 2000
Location: Bangkok
Posts: 673
Bag-handlers' arrest for theft
THAI AIRWAYS SCANDAL:
Bag-handlers' arrest for theft
Three baggage-handlers em-ployed by
Thai Airways Interna-tional have been
arrested for stealing valuables from
passengers' bags and packages to be
stowed in the cargo compartment,
police said yesterday.
Police said the three would send the bag
or package they planned to steal to a
wrong destination, most often Nakhon
Ratchasima, and one of them would buy
a ticket at employee's prices to fly to the
airport and pick up the item.
Police said the first suspect had been
arrested on Thursday and the other two
yesterday morning. The three were
nabbed following an investigation lasting
more than a year. The employees were
identified as Yutthana Thepphanom, 31,
Somchai Chamnarnhon, 31, and
Somkhuan Klinsrisuk, 30. They were
handling bags at Don Muang Domestic
Airport.
Police found five CD-players and a
Pierre Cardin bag at Yuttha-na's house
in Phrae. Police were asked by THAI
over a year ago to investigate why
passengers on do-mestic flights often
lost their be-longings. But police were in
the dark until March 13 when a
passenger complained to THAI that one
of his six CD-players loaded at the Don
Muang airport to Phuket airport went
missing.
Internal investigators suspected
Yutthana and his group and assigned
officials to monitor them.
The internal investigators found that
Yutthana had that day flown to Nakhon
Ratchasima and back. A closed-circuit
video tape showed Yutthana carrying a
CD-player box on his return, but he
claimed he had bought the player.
Police were then told to focus their
investigation on Yutthana.
Police searched his house on Thursday,
finding valuables passengers had lost.
After Yutthana's arrest he confessed
that he had cooperated with two other
baggage-handlers to steal the bags and
packages, mostly electronic appliances.
Chaiyakorn Bai-ngern
THE NATION
Bag-handlers' arrest for theft
Three baggage-handlers em-ployed by
Thai Airways Interna-tional have been
arrested for stealing valuables from
passengers' bags and packages to be
stowed in the cargo compartment,
police said yesterday.
Police said the three would send the bag
or package they planned to steal to a
wrong destination, most often Nakhon
Ratchasima, and one of them would buy
a ticket at employee's prices to fly to the
airport and pick up the item.
Police said the first suspect had been
arrested on Thursday and the other two
yesterday morning. The three were
nabbed following an investigation lasting
more than a year. The employees were
identified as Yutthana Thepphanom, 31,
Somchai Chamnarnhon, 31, and
Somkhuan Klinsrisuk, 30. They were
handling bags at Don Muang Domestic
Airport.
Police found five CD-players and a
Pierre Cardin bag at Yuttha-na's house
in Phrae. Police were asked by THAI
over a year ago to investigate why
passengers on do-mestic flights often
lost their be-longings. But police were in
the dark until March 13 when a
passenger complained to THAI that one
of his six CD-players loaded at the Don
Muang airport to Phuket airport went
missing.
Internal investigators suspected
Yutthana and his group and assigned
officials to monitor them.
The internal investigators found that
Yutthana had that day flown to Nakhon
Ratchasima and back. A closed-circuit
video tape showed Yutthana carrying a
CD-player box on his return, but he
claimed he had bought the player.
Police were then told to focus their
investigation on Yutthana.
Police searched his house on Thursday,
finding valuables passengers had lost.
After Yutthana's arrest he confessed
that he had cooperated with two other
baggage-handlers to steal the bags and
packages, mostly electronic appliances.
Chaiyakorn Bai-ngern
THE NATION
Jun 11, 2001, 1:36 am
#2
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: BKK when I'm not in Princeton
Programs: UA MP:1P for life, TG:Gold, CO:Gold
Posts: 2,017
This has been a common problem for years with TG. I have lost small items in the past from the outer pockets in checked luggage. Theft on TG occurs on international routes as well as domestic, and is not limited to electronics. The last time I lost something was the last time I checked luggage on TG... pure carry-on since.
These TG people are experts, and I have been told that a 'good' luggage handler can run their hands over the outside of a bag as it moves along the conveyor, determine if there is something of interest, unzip/open an unlocked compartment or pocket, retrieve the item, close up the bag... all without ever retarding the movement of the luggage on the conveyor.
These TG people are experts, and I have been told that a 'good' luggage handler can run their hands over the outside of a bag as it moves along the conveyor, determine if there is something of interest, unzip/open an unlocked compartment or pocket, retrieve the item, close up the bag... all without ever retarding the movement of the luggage on the conveyor.