We still don’t know what happened to missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, but Malaysian state news agency Bernama reports some of the passengers were also victims of theft and fraud.
Malaysian authorities say an HSBC bank officer and her husband conspired to transfer money from bank accounts belonging to four passengers from that missing Boeing 777. Malaysian media cameras caught the couple shielding their faces from public view.
Nur Shila Kanan faces 12 charges. Her husband Basheer Ahmad Maula Sahul Hameed, a mechanic, faces four. They both have pleaded not guilty.
Among the allegations — officials say Nur Shila transferred the equivalent of more than $12,000 from the account of a Malaysian citizen to that of a Chinese citizen, then applied for a debit card in the Chinese citizen's name. Beyond that, though, not many other details are available.
Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 disappeared in March with 227 passengers and 12 crew members on board. The victims' families have been outraged at the lack of answers. (Video via Sky News)
Attempts to find the plane haven’t been successful so far, but current theory is that it crashed into the Indian Ocean.
As for the Malaysian couple charged with theft, forgery and fraud — Malaysia’s Rakyat Post and The Malaysian Insider are among local outlets juxtaposing the country’s “outpouring of sympathy” for the victims with the couple’s alleged actions.
If convicted, Nur Shila Kanan and her husband could be sentenced to several years in prison.
This video contains images from Getty Images.
