Indian national sentenced to 3 weeks' jail for molesting steward on Singapore Airlines flight

A 20-year-old Indian national has been sentenced to three weeks' jail for molesting a stewardess while on board a Singapore Airlines flight from Perth to Singapore.

Rajat, who goes by only one name, pleaded guilty on Wednesday to one charge of using criminal force with the intent to outrage modesty, The Straits Times said on Thursday.

Rajat had grasped the stewardess from behind and pushed her into a lavatory with him during the Singapore Airlines (SIA) flight on February 28. He was arrested once the plane arrived at Changi Airport.

Seeking a jail term of three to six weeks, Deputy Public Prosecutor Eugene Lau said the stewardess had suffered some degree of psychological harm, noting that she felt afraid, disgusted and humiliated by what Rajat had done.

The DPP highlighted that it was aggravating that the offence was committed on an aircraft and said: “Commercial air travel is a high-pressure environment involving close physical proximity, and it is harder to detect undesired physical contact.”