A 28-YEAR-OLD man who repeatedly touched a woman’s thigh in a minivan despite warnings to stop has been sentenced to 20 months’ imprisonment for indecent assault.
Magistrate Namrata Mishra handed down the sentence recently, after the man pleaded guilty to the charge.
The court heard that on January 29 this year, while travelling in a minivan from Lautoka to Ba, the man repeatedly held the left thigh of a female passenger. Despite warnings from the victim, her husband over a phone call, and another confrontation near the Raviravi Police Post, the man persisted in touching her.
Magistrate Mishra highlighted the objective seriousness of non-consensual touching on public transport. The court noted the man committed the offence while intoxicated and already had two previous convictions for theft.
In calculating the final term, Magistrate Mishra deducted 12 months from the head sentence to reflect the man’s early guilty plea and genuine remorse.
The man received a final sentence of 20 months’ imprisonment, with two months credited as time already served. The remaining 18 months is to run concurrently with any uncompleted sentence.
His non-parole period was set at 10 months.
