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

Police added the victim had placed the items inside a handbag and stowed them in an overhead baggage compartment when she boarded, but found them gone after the plane landed.

Airport staff members called police after the victim notified them of the incident and all plane passengers had boarded a bus on a ramp.

“Several witnesses” identified the suspect, while the lost items which were hidden under a mat on the luggage rack of the bus had been recovered, police added.

A man, who said he had been a passenger on flight UO561 from Da Nang to Hong Kong which landed at 12:25am on Sunday, claimed he had witnessed the arrest as he posted clips and photos of the operations on Facebook.

“All the passengers disembarked and got onto a bus, when the driver suddenly locked the door without explanation and kept us trapped inside for about an hour,” he said.

“The air conditioner was blasting 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 subsequently brought back onto the plane, as a female passenger claimed that some of her belongings were missing.

The Post has reached out to the Airport Authority and HK Express for comment.

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