Passenger charged with sexually assaulting woman sat next to him on flight to Australia

Suspect, 52, is accused of assaulting fellow passenger on flight from Singapore to Perth
Australian police have charged an Indian national for allegedly sexually assaulting a woman on a flight to Perth .

The Australian Federal Police alleged that the 52-year-old suspect committed “non-consensual sexual acts” against a woman seated next to him on a Scoot Airlines flight from Singapore on Monday.

The suspect was taken before a court on Tuesday and has been remanded in custody until the next hearing on Friday.

Police said the woman was moved to another seat after she sought help from the cabin crew.

Scoot staff monitored the suspect for the rest of the journey before alerting the federal police, who boarded the flight upon touchdown at the Perth airport.

The flight took off around 3am local time on Monday and landed at Perth around 8am, a spokesperson for the Singaporean budget airline said.

“The passenger involved was handed over to the relevant authorities upon arrival in Perth,” they added.

Officers escorted the man to an interview room and subsequently arrested him.

The suspect was brought before the Perth Magistrates Court, where he was charged with one count of sexual intercourse without consent, an offence carrying a maximum sentence of 12 years in prison.

He was also charged with an act of indecency without consent, an offence punishable by up to seven years in prison.

Acting superintendent Peter Brindal said the police had zero tolerance for criminal behaviour on aircraft or within Australian airports.

"Every passenger has the right to feel safe when travelling, especially when confined in an aircraft close to other passengers,” he said in a statement.

“Anyone subjected to unwanted contact is encouraged to alert the authorities, be it airline staff, the AFP or airport security, as soon as it is safely possible to do so.

No act of indecency on an aircraft or at an airport is appropriate, and any travellers who break the law will be dealt with swiftly.”
The incident is being jointly investigated by the federal police and the Western Australia sex assault squad.