A 73-year-old man was sentenced to nine months' jail on Wednesday, April 2, for molesting four cabin crew members on board a Singapore Airlines flight from San Francisco to Singapore as he found them attractive.
Balasubramanian Ramesh, a retiree, entered a guilty plea to four charges of molestation, each involving a single woman.
During his punishment, three additional comparable charges concerning one of the four victims—whom he abused four times—were taken into consideration.
According to the court, the Indian national, who was formerly a manager at an Indian bank, had not had any alcoholic beverages during the journey.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Ashley Chin told the court that Balasubramanian was seated in an aisle seat on the SIA flight on November 18, 2024, when a 25-year-old stewardess pushed a dinner cart past him at approximately 3.30am. He then ran his hand over the woman's clothes and caressed her buttock.
The prosecutor claimed that she was shocked by his behavior and hastily left, feeling uneasy about what had happened.
Five minutes later, Balasubramanian touched the buttocks of a second stewardess, a 26-year-old woman who was serving a guest across the aisle.
Around 9.30 am, he struck once more, this time resting his hand on the upper thigh of a 31-year-old stewardess who was assisting a neighboring traveler with the in-flight entertainment system.
He stroked the thigh of a 29-year-old stewardess who was assisting a passenger with landing preparations at approximately 5:30 pm.
According to DPP Chin, the fourth victim contacted Balasubramanian after being warned by her peers to approach the accused with caution.
The fourth victim was not touched by Balasubramanian. However, she and her male boss informed him that the police would be notified because they knew he had inappropriately touched a number of their coworkers.
When the jet touched down at approximately 6:45 pm, the supervisor informed the SIA control center staff, who then called the police.
Later that day, Balasubramanian was taken into custody by officers, and he was charged in court on November 25, 2024.
DPP Chin, who emphasized that Balasubramanian had targeted four victims in total, asked the court on Wednesday to sentence him to up to a year and six months in prison.
Rezvana Fairouse, the defense attorney, argued for a lighter sentence, stating that her client's offenses did not involve skin-to-skin contact.
An offender faces a maximum sentence of three years in prison, a fine or caning, or any combination of these penalties for each conviction of molestation. Since Balasubramanian is older than fifty, he cannot be caned.
