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n airport security officer was fired and detained by police for questioning after allegedly stealing money from a passenger, an airport official said Thursday.

Ketut Subamia, the aviation security manager at the PT Ang-kasa Pura I Denpasar office, said a Japanese passenger reported he lost his money during the screening check point at gate 7-9 on Sunday.

"It was possible the money may have fallen into the x-ray cabin, but we checked and found nothing," Subaima said Thursday.

He said a senior security guard suspected the officer responsible for handling goods may have stolen the money.

"After questioning, the security officer admitted to stealing cash valued at Rp 1.8 million or *1,000, while he screened the goods.

"We returned the money to the passenger and apologized to him," Subamia said.

He said closed circuit television (CCTV), footage showed the security officer turning his back to the camera for six to eight seconds, enough time to have stolen the money.

"We have sent records of the CCTV footage showing the alleged perpetrator to the police," Suba-mia said.

The accused security officer claimed this was his first crime.

"The security officer told us he was in need of money and was tempted when he saw the cash," an official said.

Alex Pudjianto, the human resources and general affairs manager, said management was committed to taking strict measures against employees who disgraced the company.

"We want to make sure pas-sengers feel safe in the airport," he said.

Pudjianto added the airport employed a total of 820 security staff.

M. Dimyati, the assistant mana-ger and legal spokesperson, said passengers who realized they had lost their belongings after they had already left the airport could send an email to: humas@ngurahrai-airport.go.id.

"We take these matters seriously, Dimyati said.