An Australian accountant admitted in the Queenstown District Court on Monday to obtaining $130 by deception after claiming a baggage-handling company at Auckland airport had lost his suitcase.
The court heard Stephen Lau (41) had arrived on a Cathay Pacific flight from Hong Kong on September 7 and, after going to the baggage-claim area, had told the baggage-handling agents one of two checked-in bags was missing.
The agents searched for the bag and told Lau they would file a missing-baggage report and that he was entitled to $130 cash for immediate personal expenses.
After getting the $130 Lau collected his "lost" bag and was then directed to customs, where the bag was searched.
After he left the airport authorities discovered he had reported the suitcase as lost and made the claim.
Police found Lau in Wanaka on September 16. Initially, he claimed to have checked in two bags but only one had turned up in Auckland. He later admitted there was no lost bag.
When Wanaka police searched his suitcase they found a large quantity of receipts, insurance forms and lost/stolen property forms.
"How long have you been running this scam?" Judge Kevin Phillips asked Lau after it was revealed he had made up to six similar claims in the past three years.
Lau was convicted and fined $500. He was also ordered to pay $130 in court costs and $130 reparation to Cathay Pacific.
