An Indian national has been jailed after he was found guilty of molesting a woman by touching her breast while she was sleeping, reported Yahoo News.

On Thursday, Oct. 18, the 23-year-old man named Ravichandran Vignesh pleaded guilty to one count of molest and was sentenced to jail for six months in Singapore.

He said he was "drunk and high and tempted" to touch her breast.

The man and the 31-year-old woman were both on a Singapore Airlines flight from Bengaluru, India to Bali, Indonesia, with a stop in Singapore in between.

The incident happened on Oct. 1 at about 4am.

"Do not know the laws of Singapore"

Ravichandran, who owns a pet shop in India, said in mitigation through an interpreter that it was his first time taking a flight.

According to Yahoo News, he said he was from a poor family, and asked to be allowed to return to India and promised he would not do it again:

"I do not know the laws of Singapore. I have not done this back home in India before. I will not touch any woman again. I will not travel overseas again. I will not come back to Singapore again."

Felt someone touching her while she was asleep

The woman was sleeping after having her meal at 3.30am Singapore time.

She felt someone touching her right breast at about 4am and woke up immediately.

Upon seeing that the hand belonged to the man next to her, she shouted at him.

Ravichandran then retracted his hand and pretended to sleep.

The woman requested to change seats and was moved to an empty seat at the back.

She later lodged a police report with the Airport Police Division the following day at around 10.58am, after sending a feedback to SIA and an email to the Deputy Commander of the Airport Police Division.

Ravichandran was later arrested on Oct. 4 when he was flying back from Bali and transiting via Singapore.

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Top image via Gerrie van der Walt/Unsplash