Do you buy travel insurance when you go overseas? Because if you don’t, this incident might just convince you to start doing so.
That’s if you weren’t convinced by the Singapore Tourism Board’s videos, that is.
When you travel overseas, there’s a lot of things that could happen to you:
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- Losing your wallet
- Getting your passport stolen
- Flight delays
- Lost luggage
- Get food poisoning and need to see a doctor overseas
- Feel unwell after your trip and see a doctor when you’re back in the country
…and more.
Sometimes, you arrive at your destination in Korea only to realise that your luggage is in Taiwan.
It’s one thing to know that your luggage was misplaced accidentally by overworked luggage handlers.
But what if it was done intentionally?
65-Year-Old Ex-Baggage Handler Intentionally Swop Luggage Tags
Meet 65-year-old Tay Boon Keh, an ex-baggage handler at Changi Airport T2.
He was working under a subcontractor of Changi Airport Group, Lian Cheng Contracting and deployed to the Explosives Detection System (EDS).
Requested For Help But Ignored
However, the x-ray machine that he worked at broke down several times a day and he had to physically carry the bags to another machine to do his work.
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Finding the work too tough, he approached his supervisor and request for extra manpower to be placed at the x-ray machine.
However, due to staff constraints, his company didn’t do so, making Tay extremely unhappy.
Decided To Bring Attention To The Problem In an Unusual Way
Now, there are plenty of ways to bring something up to the higher echelons of the organisation.
You can go up the chain of command, send emails and cc the entire world or complain on social media.
But Tay decided to take an unconventional way: by intentionally creating problems for his company.
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He decided to intentionally swap luggage tags between SilkAir and SIA passengers.
The frequent “mistakes”, he hopes, will bring the issue of x-ray machine breakdowns and manpower issues to the people who matter.
His Actions Cost Airlines Over $42,000
Tay was pretty smart about his actions. He made sure that he was alone and in a CCTV-free area before carrying out his self-appointed mission.
He swapped 286 luggage tags between 6 Nov 2016 and Feb 2017.
Both SilkAir and SIA had to make compensation payouts of more than $42,000 to 221 passengers this year.
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He stopped in Feb 2017 after realising that no additional manpower was deployed to assist him.
Police Report Lodged By SATS Employee
Ground-handling company, SATS, received emails from both SilkAir and SIA, alleging that their passengers’ luggage tags have been tampered with.
A SATS employee lodged a police report about the mishandled luggage in Dec 2016.
Tay pleaded guilty in court to 20 counts of mischief on his 65th birthday
For each count of mischief, Tay can be jailed up to a year and slapped with a fine.
Always Bring An Overnight Bag
So, if there’s one thing to be learnt from this, it’s that you must always have one set of clothes in a carry-on luggage, together with toothpaste and toothbrush.
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Because at least, if you’re really unlucky to have lost your luggage, you’re still able to tahan for a few days while waiting for your luggage to arrive.
That, or at least be presentable enough to go shopping. Because that’s all it matters, no?
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