If you’ve ever had the misfortune of having your luggage misplaced, then this might make you just a little bit angry.
A baggage handler has been charged with 286 counts of mischief for deliberately swapping tags on hundreds of items of luggage at an airport in Singapore.
According to The Straits Times, 63-year old Tay Boon Keh is believed to have first swapped tags on items of luggage at Changi Airport in November 8 of last year and continued to do so every single day he was on duty until February of this year.
He was charged with 286 counts of mischief in court on Tuesday.
Luggage bound for destinations such as London, Hong Kong and Perth is believed to be amongst the items affected over the period of three months, while Singapore Airlines and Lufthansa were amongst the airlines affected.
A spokesperson for Changi Airport – regularly voted by airline travellers as the best airport in the world – indicated that Tay Boon Keh was working alone and that there was no major breach of security at the airport.
"Nonetheless, we have enhanced access control as well as the CCTV coverage in the baggage handling area. Patrols have also been stepped up," an airport spokesperson told The Straits Times.
Tay Boon Keh is due back in court on October 17 and if convicted of the counts of mischief, faces up to a year in prison and a fine for every single charge.
