A 20-year-old Indian man was handed a molestation charge in Singapore on April 22 after he allegedly molested a stewardess on board a Singapore Airlines (SIA) flight, reports said.
The accused was identified as Rajat.
The incident reportedly took place on February 28 around 11:20 am.
As per a police statement, preliminary investigation revealed that during the flight, the female crew was escorting a female passenger to use the lavatory when she noticed a piece of tissue paper on the floor of the lavatory.
As the female crew bent forward to pick it up, Rajat allegedly appeared behind her, grasped her, and pushed her into the lavatory with him.
The female passenger, who witnessed the incident, helped the female crew out of the lavatory immediately.
The incident was then reported to the cabin supervisor. Rajat was arrested by officers from Airport Police Division once the aircraft arrived at Changi Airport.
He is expected to plead guilty on May 14.
Earlier in April, 73-year-old Indian national, Balasubramanian Ramesh, was sentenced to nine months in prison on April 2 for molesting four female cabin crew members aboard a Singapore Airlines flight.
The incident took place on a flight from San Francisco to Singapore, spanning over 14 hours.
Ramesh, a former bank manager from India, pleaded guilty to four charges of molestation. Three additional charges, related to a victim he molested multiple times during the same flight, were considered during the trial.
The molestations occurred during the November 18, 2024, flight, and were reported once the plane landed in Singapore. A flight supervisor informed the airline’s control center, who then contacted the police. Ramesh was arrested the same day.
As Ramesh is over 50, he is exempt from being caned, which is a common punishment for such offences in Singapore. The maximum penalty for each molestation charge is up to three years in prison, a fine, or caning, or a combination of these punishments.
