Indian Man Jailed 6 Months for Molesting a Singapore Airlines Crew

A 35-year-old Indian national was sentenced on June 22 to six months in a Singapore prison and ordered to pay the victim S$1,270.95 (US$982.25) in compensation for molesting a Singapore Airlines flight attendant on a February 9 Bangkok-to-Singapore flight. Akash Tiwari had pleaded guilty to one count of molestation and one count of causing distress by threatening behaviour.

Court documents detail two on-board assaults and a third confrontation in the aircraft’s galley, where Tiwari’s friends, including Jay Shankar, laughed as he brushed against the crew member, nudged her with his elbow, and eventually cornered her in the narrow service area. The flight captain reported the case as the plane approached Changi Airport. Tiwari was arrested on landing.

The Bangkok Leg and a Rowdy Group

The Singapore-bound flight left Bangkok on February 9 with Tiwari seated alongside four friends. The group had been rowdy well before take-off, and Deputy Public Prosecutor Lynda Lee told the court that the men would wave frantically and laugh whenever a female crew member walked past their aisle. The behaviour carried on through the meal service.

The first assault came as the victim approached the group to confirm meal orders. Tiwari stretched out his arm and brushed it against her upper thigh. Court documents say the woman was shocked; Tiwari and his friends started laughing. The crew member reported the incident to the chief stewardess and was reassigned to serve meals in a different aisle, away from Tiwari’s row.

The reassignment was supposed to put distance between the crew member and her assailant. It did not last. After the meal service, Tiwari waited for the crew member to come back into range as she collected used trays from passengers. What followed, the court heard, was the second assault, and then a third confrontation in the narrow service area near the aircraft door.

The Second Assault at the Meal Cart

While pushing the meal cart with her back turned to Tiwari, the victim was collecting trays from passengers who had finished eating. Court documents say Tiwari deliberately and suddenly leaned out of his aisle, swerved his body toward her, and nudged his elbow onto her buttock. He did so intending to outrage her modesty.

The victim told Tiwari not to touch her. He smirked instead of apologising, and the response only added to her distress as she repeated her request. The crew member then reported the second assault to the chief stewardess, and the two women confronted Tiwari together. Court documents say Tiwari remained unapologetic and insisted he had done nothing wrong.

His friend Jay Shankar laughed and said he would like to have a beer and watch the “show,” referring to the victim’s reaction at being molested. The captain’s announcement that the plane was preparing to land cut the in-aisle confrontation short, and the victim left for the galley to report the second assault. The chief stewardess went up the chain, briefing her supervisor and the captain.

1. Bangkok pre-flight: Tiwari’s group is rowdy; he brushes the crew member’s thigh during meal order confirmation; his friends laugh.
2. Meal service: Tiwari nudges the crew member’s buttock with his elbow while she collects trays; he smirks when she tells him to stop.
3. In-aisle confrontation: Chief stewardess confronts Tiwari; he insists he did nothing wrong; Shankar jokes about watching a “show.”
4. Galley: Tiwari follows the victim into the narrow service area and corners her; passengers in the aisle see what unfolds.
5. Changi Airport: Flight captain reports the case to the aviation and logistics hub; a police report is filed; Tiwari is arrested on landing.

Cornered in the Galley

Tiwari followed the victim into the galley, a narrow and confined workspace. He was the only other person there. He walked up and stood extremely close to her, the court heard. The crew member told him to stay away; he went even closer and cornered her.

She shouted at him to stay away and to stop following her, then left the galley for an aisle. Tiwari was on her tail. Passengers in the aisle saw what was happening. The crew member sought help from the chief stewardess again, by which point she was in tears, visibly frightened, and both her hands were shaking. Tiwari finally left her alone after she reached the chief stewardess, and the flight captain reported the case to an aviation and logistics hub at Changi Airport as the plane came in to land.

He Smirked Instead of Apologising

Deputy Public Prosecutor Lynda Lee laid out the smirk as the throughline of the case. The victim was very upset, asked the accused not to touch her, and was met with a smirk rather than an apology, Lee told the court. The response only added to the victim’s distress as she repeated her request.

Lee’s framing grew more pointed at the galley stage. “Instead of moving away, the accused persisted with the same threatening behaviour by coming even closer and cornered the victim in the galley,” the prosecutor said. “The victim was even more distressed by now. She shouted at him to stay away and to stop following her.”

Lee’s submissions also tied the assaults to the group dynamic. It was clear, Lee said, that Tiwari’s sexual offending and harassment was part of a group, a fact that added to the egregiousness of his conduct and the distress he caused. Lee’s submissions asked for the maximum the State could seek on the harassment count, and the court imposed it.

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.

The Sentence and the Compensation Order

The sentence was handed down on June 22. Tiwari was sentenced to six months in jail, and the court ordered him to pay the victim S$1,270.95 in compensation. He had earlier pleaded guilty to one count of molestation and one count of causing distress by threatening behaviour, in a single sentencing.

Court documents show the compensation was split into two parts: S$1,000 for emotional trauma and S$270.95 for medical expenses. Tiwari will serve an additional five days in prison if he fails to pay the full amount. The S$270.95 medical portion reflects documented care the victim received after the incident, and the S$1,000 emotional portion reflects the distress caused by both assaults and the galley confrontation.

Of the maximum sentences the law allowed on each charge, the six-month jail term sat at the maximum of the range for the harassment charge. For molestation, the statute allows up to three years in prison, plus caning or a fine or both; the court imposed neither caning nor a separate fine on Tiwari.

Tiwari was arrested after the plane landed at Changi. The flight captain had reported the case to the airport’s aviation and logistics hub, a police report was filed, and officers met the aircraft on arrival. The case then moved through Singapore courts over the following months. The full record of the plea and sentencing is laid out in the courtroom record of the Tiwari sentencing.

• 35 – Tiwari’s age at the time of the February 9, 2026 incident
• February 9, 2026 – Date of the in-flight assault on the Bangkok-to-Singapore service
• 6 months – Jail sentence handed down on June 22, 2026
• S$1,270.95 (US$982.25) – Compensation ordered to the victim
• 5 additional days – Default sentence if Tiwari fails to pay the compensation

Where the Sentence Sat on the Law’s Range

Singapore’s molestation statute sets a maximum of three years in prison, plus the option of caning, a fine, or any combination. The statute covering threatening behaviour that causes distress sets a maximum of six months in prison, a fine of up to S$5,000, or both. Tiwari’s six-month term matched the maximum on the harassment charge, but fell well short of the three-year maximum available for the molestation count.

The court did not impose caning in Tiwari’s case, even though the statute allows it for the molestation count. Neither was a separate fine added; the compensation order and the additional five-day default sentence covered the financial side. A gag order protecting the victim’s identity is in place, which is why most reporting on the case, including the official court record, refers to her only as “the victim” or “the crew member.”

Shankar’s Laugh and the ‘Show’ Comment

Jay Shankar, a friend of Tiwari’s seated with the group on the same flight, burst out laughing and said he would like to have a beer and watch the “show.” The comment came in response to the elbow-nudging moment, after the victim told Tiwari not to touch her and was met with a smirk. Shankar’s words made it into the prosecution’s sentencing submissions.

Lee used the comment as evidence that the assaults were part of a group, not an isolated incident. The DPP told the court it was clear that Tiwari’s sexual offending and harassment was part of a group, and that this added to the egregiousness of his conduct and the victim’s distress. The framing shaped the sentence the State asked for: six months in jail and S$1,270.95 in compensation, the same figures the court imposed.

The “show” comment sat in the court record alongside the elbow-nudging, the smirk, and the galley cornering. Tiwari will serve six months and pay the compensation, with an additional five days in default if the S$1,270.95 is not paid. The June 22 sentence resolves the February 9 case at the trial level.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long was Akash Tiwari sentenced to jail?

Tiwari was sentenced to six months in prison on June 22, 2026. The court also imposed an additional five days in default if he fails to pay the S$1,270.95 (US$982.25) in compensation ordered to the victim.

How much compensation was Tiwari ordered to pay?

The court ordered Tiwari to pay S$1,270.95 in total. The amount breaks down to S$1,000 for emotional trauma and S$270.95 for medical expenses, per Channel News Asia, which reported the case from the Singapore courtroom.

What were the two charges Tiwari pleaded guilty to?

Tiwari pleaded guilty to one count of molestation and one count of causing distress by threatening behaviour, both stemming from the February 9 incident on the same flight.

Could Tiwari have been caned under Singapore law?

Yes. The molestation statute in Singapore allows for up to three years in prison, caning, a fine, or any combination. The court did not impose caning in Tiwari’s case; it imposed only the six-month jail term and the compensation order.

Why is the Singapore Airlines flight attendant’s identity not public?

A gag order under Singapore court practice protects the victim’s identity, which is why the case appears in court records and in reporting as “the victim” rather than by name. Channel News Asia and other Singapore outlets have honoured the order in their coverage of the sentencing.