An Unexpected Surprise, Woman Found A Video Camera In The First Class Cabin Of A United Airlines Flight
by Heather Cassell
It’s not something you would expect anywhere much less a first-class cabin bathroom, but the “blue blinking light” caught a woman’s eye while she used the bathroom aboard a United Airlines flight in May.
Choon Ping Lee, a Malaysian man working for global oil company Halliburton and was flying in first class on the flight, was identified as the alleged perpetrator for placing the video camera in the bathroom and it wasn’t his first time.
Choon’s face wasn’t seen in the videos on the camera, which led to a drawn-out search for the once mystery man, but some key identifying details on the video footage led to his arrest.
It all started when the unidentified woman aboard United flight 646 from San Diego to Houston spied the camera while she was in the first-class cabin bathroom on May 5.
The woman picked up the object with a paper towel, which was situated between the “cabinet and wall area close to a door hinge,” and handed it over to flight attendants, according to media reports citing the criminal complaint that was filed in the Southern District of Texas earlier this week.
A woman relaxing watching TV in her Polaris seat aboard United Airlines. (Photo: Courtesy of United Airlines)
As soon as the plane landed at George Bush Intercontinental Airport the flight attendants handed over the device to United Airlines Corporate Security.
Security officers confirmed it was a video camera. Files, including deleted files, also showed the camera had been used before on a previous Emirates Airlines flight and captured an Emirates flight attendant among other passengers.
Choon’s face wasn’t revealed in any of the camera footage when security officers screened it, but it did capture the man’s wrists. He wore a watch on his left wrist and a small bracelet on his right. The camera also captured that he was wearing a blue short-sleeve shirt and blue jeans.
Agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation in San Diego and officers from the Houston Police Department screened surveillance footage from the respective airports. Based on the details they were able to identify the man in question.
United Airlines 737 Max 9 (Photo: Courtesy of United Airlines)
Halliburton, which former Vice President Dick Cheney was once chairman and CEO, cooperated with authorities providing them with a real-time photo of Choon who was wearing the same bracelet and watch from the camera video as well as his travel itineraries to authorities.
“We have a robust Code of Business Conduct and expect every employee to abide by the standards contained in the Code and all applicable laws,” the oil company stated in a statement sent to Houston ABC station KTRK.
Choon was arrested August 8, charged with video voyeurism, and is being held in detention pending a bond hearing, reported Travel Pulse.
If convicted, he could face up to a year in prison, reported ABC News.
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