Man jailed for ‘despicable’ sexual assault on flight
A man has been jailed after admitting inflicting a ‘despicable’ and ‘prolonged’ sexual attack on a woman on a flight from Mumbai to Manchester in February.
The victim, in her 20s, woke up to find Hardeep Singh, 36, sexually assaulting her.
She tried to push him away, said police, but he forced his hands underneath her clothing and underwear, rubbing his hands on her body, and tried to kiss her, as other passengers slept.
Sing, an Indian national from the Hoshiarpur region who was visiting Britain on a six-month tourist visa, was sentenced yesterday to 12 months imprisonment at Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court after pleading guilty to three counts of sexual assault.
Greater Manchester Police said Singh had tried to engage the woman in conversation on boarding.
"She tried to be polite but began to feel uncomfortable and could not understand him as he did not speak English clearly," said the police.
"When she got up to use the facilities, Singh refused to move aside so she could get to the aisle comfortably, forcing her to squeeze past him."
After the lights on the aircraft were turned down, the woman and the other passengers around her went to sleep under their blankets.
The woman woke to find Singh sexually assaulting her.
She repeatedly told him to stop, trying to remove his hands, and attempted to move away but Singh hooked her legs off the ground so she couldn’t get up.
"The assault lasted for around 15 minutes before the she was able to struggle free and move to the back of the plane where she reported Singh to a member of cabin crew," said police.
Crew moved him away from the woman for the remainder of the flight and contacted Greater Manchester Police, whose officers were waiting at Manchester Airport when the plane landed.~
Singh was arrested on suspicion of sexual assault and initially denied the offences.
Detective Constable Catherine Evans of GMP’s Airport Team, said: "From the outset of the flight, Singh’s behaviour was despicable.
"After checking the woman was unaccompanied, he began to invade her personal space, pestering her and making unwanted physical contact, despite the passenger making it clear she did not want to engage him in conversation.
"Waiting until the woman and surrounding passengers were asleep, Singh subjected the woman to a prolonged sexual assault, forcibly restraining her when she tried to move away.
"Numbed with fear, it was only after she summoned the strength to overpower him that she was able to run away and raise the alarm.
"Thanks to the swift actions of our officers at Manchester Airport, justice was waiting for Singh as soon as he landed.
"We’re pleased with today’s sentence and hope the woman can move forward knowing that he’s behind bars.
"We hope the courage of this woman and this positive court result encourages other victims to come forward and report incidents of sexual assault to police."
After he has served his sentence, Singh will be deported back to India.
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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