A 20-year-old Indian national was sentenced to three weeks in jail on Wednesday after he molested a stewardess on board a Singapore Airlines (SIA) flight travelling to Changi airport from Perth.
At 11.20 am on February 28, the stewardess was cleaning one of the restrooms and bent down to pick up a piece of toilet paper on the floor. The man, named Rajat, had allegedly grabbed the stewardess from behind and pushed her into the flight's restroom with him.
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“As she did so, (Rajat) approached her and placed both his hands on her hips, near her buttocks. He then pushed his way into the toilet, causing the victim to enter the toilet as well,” said Deputy Public Prosecutor Eugene Lau, as quoted by The Straits Times.
A passenger who had witnessed the act quickly pulled the stewardess out of the restroom and escorted her to the back of the plane so she could avoid Rajat.
{{/usCountry}}A passenger who had witnessed the act quickly pulled the stewardess out of the restroom and escorted her to the back of the plane so she could avoid Rajat.
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Rajat, who had been studying at a university in Australia, was arrested once the plane arrived at Changi airport.
Man's defence lawyer calls for sentence reduction
DPP Lau, during the court proceedings, pointing out that it was an especially aggressive crime as it was hard to escape on an airplane.
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“Commercial air travel is a high-pressure environment involving close physical proximity, and it is harder to detect undesired physical contact. In addition, there is no ready means of escape for the victim... (and) no way to obtain law enforcement mid-flight," Lau was quoted as saying.
Rajat's defence lawyer Ranjit Singh noted that his client's clean record and good conduct at school should allow him to have a reduced sentence and a fine for the issue.
As per Singaporean law, those convicted of molestation can be jailed for up to three years, fined, caned, or receive any combination of such punishments.