Zhang pleaded guilty to one count of theft in the State Courts, Channel News Asia reported.

According to the verdict, he committed the act on the flight on Feb. 4, stealing cash from a Gucci haversack in the overhead compartment.

He noticed the bag when its owner, a 42-year-old woman traveling with her husband, stood up to take a credit card from it to buy food.

He subsequently took the bag from the compartment and brought it to his seat. There, he found a pouch containing cash in U.S. dollar and Chinese yuan, so he took some of the notes, The Straits Times reported.

When Zhang returned the bag to the overhead compartment, the victim noticed and questioned his actions, but he claimed he was searching for his own bag.

The woman then found cash was missing from her pouch, so she and her husband questioned Zhang again.

He continued to denied the offense, but two other passengers reported seeing him with the bag.

When the flight landed in Singapore, cabin crew found cash worth $885 stashed in another overhead compartment.

Eventually, Zhang admitted that he had stolen the money to pay off debts in China.