Singapore | A 25-year-old Indian national has been sentenced to four years of jail and six strokes of the cane for molesting a British woman at a night club in Singapore in 2022, according to a media report on Friday.

The incident happened in August 2022 when Erugula Eswara Reddy, who is in Singapore on a student pass, met the victim at a Turf Club road restaurant while she was intoxicated and waiting for her friends, The Straits Times reported.

Taking advantage of the situation, Reddy forcibly lifted the victim from the chair and took her to a nearby field even though she was constantly kept asking him to let her go.

He then molested the victim laid her on the ground and undressed himself, the report said.

However, one of the male friends of the woman who was searching for her reached the spot after he heard screams of the victim calling for help.  

The victim's friend on reaching the spot saw that Reddy was naked with the partially dressed victim lying face up and weeping.

The friend then alerted the police and officers arrived at the scene to arrest the offender.

During the hearing, Deputy Public Prosecutor John Lu told the court: "While Reddy was forcibly taking the victim to the field, she constantly told him to stop and stay away from her".

Reddy took away the mobile phone and molested the woman before undressing himself.

On Friday Lu urged the court to sentence Reddy to four years’ jail and six strokes of the cane, adding, “During his interaction with the victim, the accused must have noticed that the victim was drunk, alone and vulnerable, which is why the accused chose to take advantage of her.”

For committing the offence, Reddy could have been jailed for between two and 10 years, and caned.