Indian man Akash Tiwari was jailed for six months and ordered to pay compensation of $982 (about ₹93,000) for molesting a flight attendant on a Singapore flight. Tiwari reportedly touched the Singapore Airlines crew member as his friends laughed and refused to apologise when she, along with her supervisor, confronted him.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Lynda Lee said, “She was very upset and told the accused not to touch her. Instead of apologising, he smirked. The victim was even more distressed and repeated to him not to touch her.” Tiwari was on board a Singapore-bound flight from Thailand with four friends on February 9.
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What had happened?
The harassment began when the victim approached Tiwari and his friends to confirm their meal orders. The Indian man brushed his arm against her thigh and laughed. She told the chief stewardess about it and was asked to serve other aisles instead.
However, Tiwari again nudged her backside with his elbow while she was collecting trays from passengers. At this point, she and her chief stewardess confronted the 35-year-old.
However, he didn’t apologise; instead, he smirked. When the pilot said that the plane was preparing to land, the victim left for the gallery. Tiwari followed her and stood extremely close to her.
“Instead of moving away, the accused persisted with the same threatening behaviour by coming even closer and cornered the victim in the galley,” said Lee, adding, “The victim was even more distressed by now. She shouted at him to stay away and to stop following her.”
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The prosecutor shared that the incident of harassment, which left the victim in tears, was witnessed by some of the victims. Tiwari was arrested after the flight landed in Singapore.
