Airport baggage handler facing jail for bizarre campaign of 'mischief' with passengers' bags

A baggage handler in Singapore is facing prison for deliberately swapping the labels on hundreds of suitcases.

Tay Boon Keh, 63, was charged with 286 counts of 'mischief' after repeatedly swapping the tags on bags over a three-month period.

According to Reuters, Tay – who worked for a sub-contractor at Chanhi Airport - first switched a label for a suitcase travelling on a Singapore Airlines plane to Malaysia in November 2016.

And he then allegedly continued to do so almost every day until he was caught out in February 2017, disrupting luggage destined for airports around the world including London, Frankfurt and San Francisco.

Tay has not provided a motive for his alleged actions but said he intended to plead guilty.

He now faces a fine and possible jail time of up to a year for each offence – although his sentence is likely to run concurrently.

A spokesman for Changi Airport - one of the busiest travel hubs in the world - told Reuters that there had been no breach of security.

Tay will appear in court again on October 17.