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SINGAPORE: A 73-year-old man molested four cabin crew members on board a Singapore Airlines flight from San Francisco to Singapore as he found them attractive.
On Wednesday (April 2), retiree Balasubramanian Ramesh was sentenced to nine months’ jail after he pleaded guilty to four molestation charges, each involving one woman.
Three other similar charges involving one of the four victims, whom he molested on four separate occasions, were considered during his sentencing.
The Indian national, who used to work as a manager in a bank in India, had not consumed alcoholic drinks during the flight, the court heard.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Ashley Chin told the court that Balasubramanian was sitting in an aisle seat on board the SIA flight on Nov 18, 2024, when a 25-year-old stewardess pushed a meal cart past him at around 3.30am.
He then touched the woman’s buttock over her clothing.
Shocked by his actions, she quickly walked away, feeling uncomfortable about what had happened, the prosecutor said.
About five minutes later, a second stewardess, 26, was serving a passenger who was seated across the aisle from Balasubramanian when he touched her buttocks.
He struck again at around 9.30am, placing a hand on a 31-year-old stewardess’ upper thigh while she was helping a nearby passenger with the in-flight entertainment system.
At around 5.30pm, he touched the thigh of a 29-year-old stewardess who was helping a passenger prepare for landing.
This fourth victim, who had been warned by her colleagues to approach the accused with caution, confronted Balasubramanian, DPP Chin said.
Balasubramanian denied touching the fourth victim. But she and her male supervisor told him that they were aware that he had touched several of their colleagues inappropriately, and the police would be alerted.
The plane landed at around 6.45pm and the supervisor reported the matter to staff members at the SIA control centre, who alerted the police.
Officers arrested Balasubramanian later that day, and he was charged in court on Nov 25, 2024.
On April 2, DPP Chin urged the court to give Balasubramanian a jail sentence of up to a year and six months, stressing that he had targeted four victims in total.
Saying that her client’s offences did not involve skin-to-skin contact, defence lawyer Rezvana Fairouse pleaded for a shorter sentence.
For each count of molestation, an offender can be jailed for up to three years, fined or caned, or receive any combination of such punishments.
Balasubramanian cannot be caned as he is over 50 years old. - The Straits Times/ANN
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