Singapore, Jan 20 (IANS): An Indian national, who was in Singapore on a student pass, has been sentenced to four years in jail and six strokes of the cane for molesting a British woman at a nightclub in 2022, according to a media report.

Erugula Eswara Reddy, 25, pleaded guilty to a molestation charge and was arrested shortly after the incident on August 20, 2022. The Straits Times reported on Friday.

The court heard that Reddy approached the victim at a restaurant in Turf Club road when she was drunk and was waiting for a friend to pick her up.

As he started talking to her, she felt uncomfortable and told him she did not need any help, after which she messaged her friend, informing him about her encounter with the accused.

Deputy Public Prosecutor John Lu told the court that Reddy then lifted the victim off her chair and carried her out of the restaurant.

“During this time, the victim asked the accused not to take her and to let her go, but the accused persisted with his actions. The accused also took the victim’s handphone from her,” Lu said.

Reddy took the woman to a nearby field even as she constantly told him to stop and stay away from her, and molested her.

The victim's friend who had received the messages left the restaurant with a party of searchers to look for her and spotted the two at an open field in the distance.

The friend called for the police and Reddy was arrested soon after.

“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,” Lu said as he urged the court to sentence Reddy to four years’ jail and six strokes of the cane.

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