SINGAPORE - A Singapore Airlines passenger who travelled from Bali had a shock when he arrived at Changi Airport on Monday (Feb 26) and discovered that his luggage had been tampered with.

After collecting his luggage from the belt, Japan-born Katei Chang found that the lock of his bag was "ripped off" and "broken into".

The 34-year-old violinist, who performs on cruise ships around the world, was so incensed by incident that he posted about it on Facebook the same day.

"You can tell by the picture that it was broken into with a lot of force," he wrote, attaching a photo of the damaged suitcase lock.

He added that he immediately opened the luggage to check if anything was stolen.

Although nothing was missing, he found that some items, mostly CDs and sheet music, had been opened.

According to Mr Chang, three other people from his flight SQ939 had items stolen from their luggage.

"I flew 78 flights last year and never came across anything disgusting like this," he wrote. His post has since been shared more than 4,300 times.

Mr Chang told The Straits Times that he was concerned the person who broke into his luggage could have planted drugs or dangerous goods into the bag.

He has made a report with Singapore Airlines about his damaged luggage, and will be claiming compensation when he returns to Australia where he lives.

The operator of Ngurah Rai International Airport in Bali, Angkasa Pura Airports, has also reached out to Mr Chang to investigate the incident and is reviewing CCTV footage.

However, it remains unclear when the luggage was damaged.

Despite the incident, Mr Chang said he is not deterred from travelling with the airline in future.

"I've flown Singapore Airlines many times and it's always a pleasure flying with them," he said. His company had chosen the airline for his trip here so that he could join the cruise ship leaving from Singapore.

In response to queries from ST, an SIA spokesman said it would be contacting the passenger to offer assistance.

When asked about the procedures in place to prevent luggage handlers or staff from tampering with baggage, the spokesman said he was unable to disclose security practices as a "matter of policy".

Meanwhile, Angkasa Pura Airports told ST it is still in the process of verifying the incident.

ST has contacted Changi Airport for more information.