SINGAPORE (TIP): A 73-year-old Indian national was on Wednesday sentenced to nine months in prison for molesting four female cabin crew on board a Singapore Airlines (SIA) flight from the US to the city-state, according to a media report.
Balasubramanian Ramesh pleaded guilty to four counts of molestation, while three additional charges—related to one victim he molested on four separate occasions during November 18, 2024, were taken into consideration, according to media reports.
The former manager at a bank in India cannot be caned as he is over 50. For each count of molestation an offender can be jailed for up to three years, fined or canned, or receive any combination of such punishments, according to the report.
Balasubramanian molested the four women over a period of 14 hours during the San Francisco to Singapore flight.
The plane landed at around 6.45pm and a flight supervisor reported the matter to staff members at the SIA control center, who alerted the Singapore police. Officers arrested Balasubramanian later that day, and he was charged in court on November 25, 2024.
On Wednesday, April 2, Deputy Public Prosecutor Ashley 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. While defense lawyer Rezvana Fairouse pleaded for a shorter sentence, asserting that her client’s offences did not involve skin-to-skin contact.