Police in Hanoi have brought in for questioning a Chinese flyer accused of stealing money from a fellow passenger on a Vietnam Airlines flight last week, the flag carrier said on Wednesday.

Upon boarding a Hanoi-bound flight from the central city of Da Nang on January 9, the Chinese national, identified as Zuo Lei, left his 25C seat for the 18C one and put his bag into the overhead bin there, according to Tran Anh Truyen, a flight attendant with knowledge of the matter.

Another passenger noticed Zuo then opening a suitcase in the compartment and informed the cabin crew of the suspicious action. The crew then closely monitored the Chinese passenger’s behavior.

The cabin crew head also arrived at the 18th row of seats and advised passengers to check their luggage again for any property loss.

Zuo took advantage of the moment when other passengers were busy checking in order to try to put an envelope into his cabin bag, but the attempt was caught by the crew head.

As one passenger reported his VND10 million ($430) worth of cash went missing, the cabin crew then found the exact amount of money inside the envelope in question.

With two passengers stepping up as witnesses to the in-flight theft, the Chinese had his passport seized and kept at an empty seat until the plane landed.

Zuo was handed over to police in Hanoi after the plane touched down at the capital’s Noi Bai International Airport.

The foreign passenger is likely to be placed either on the watchlist or a blacklist in line with Vietnam Airlines’ policy, according to the carrier.

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