SINGAPORE, Feb 3 — A former cabin crew member with budget carrier Scoot who misappropriated nearly S$40,000 (RM125,000) in inflight sales has asked the court for more time to repay the money, according to a report by The Straits Times (ST).

Luqman Hakim Shahfawi, 31, has so far returned S$10,000, telling the court yesterday that he intends to make full restitution but needs additional time to do so. 

He had been due for sentencing the same day.

District Judge Lau Qiuyu granted an adjournment and extended his S$15,000 bail. 

His case is now fixed for mitigation and sentencing on March 27.

Luqman was working as a “complex leader” with the low-cost airline when he began taking cash from food-and-beverage sales on board. 

In January, he admitted to one charge of criminal breach of trust involving more than S$22,000; a second charge, covering a further sum close to S$18,000, will be considered during sentencing.

According to ST, his misconduct began after he misplaced two cash bags containing payments from passengers. 

Deputy Public Prosecutor Janessa Phua told the court in January: “Subsequently, (he) decided to keep the (bags and) cash proceeds after all his flights because he was worried that his supervisors would discover the loss of the first two bags. When his supervisors failed to confront him... (Luqman) continued to keep the (bags) after each flight.”

Court documents stated that on 156 occasions between July 2023 and March 2024, he pocketed almost S$18,000. 

Between April 2024 and March 2025, he committed similar acts 210 times, taking more than S$22,000.

Investigators found that the bulk of the money went towards settling debts with unlicensed moneylenders. 

Luqman later confessed to his employer, prompting a Scoot representative to lodge a police report on March 20 last year. He was arrested the following day.