Indian national sentenced for assaulting three women in New Zealand

Wellington, Dec 18: A 67-year-old Indian national, who assaulted three women on a beach in New Zealand on the pretext of taking photographs with them, was ordered to pay NZ$3,000 to his victims on Monday.

Jawahar Singh had previously pleaded guilty to three charges of indecent assault and one charge of an indecent act, relating to three incidents at the Tahunanui beach in Nelson, news website Stuff.co.nz reported.

At the Nelson District Court on Monday, Judge Jo Rielly said Singh has brought shame upon himself and upon his son, who he had been visiting in New Zealand.

"Singh was convicted and sentenced to pay NZ$1,000 in emotional harm reparations to each of his three victims," the website reported.

According to the police summary of facts provided to Stuff, on September 28, a woman was walking her dog along the beach at around 9.15 a.m. when Singh approached her for a photograph with him.

When the woman took Singh's phone to photograph him, he moved next to her, put his arm around her shoulders, and put his hand close to her back, despite being warned by the victim, the website reported.

On September 30, he approached the second victim on the beach at 8.45 a.m. requesting a selfie with her.

After taking a picture with her, Singh grabbed the victim's thigh and asked for a kiss, the report said.

While the second victim managed to get away from Singh, he accosted the third victim on October 1 who was collecting rubbish along the beach.

The woman pushed Singh away and said he could take a selfie with one arm around her. He then tried to kiss the victim, putting his arm down her back when she escaped and hid in the bushes.

During interrogation, Singh told police that he “met females at the beach but didn’t speak to them”.

During the sentencing, Judge Rielly said the women were affected to varying degrees, and were left feeling “angry, rattled and scared”.

“For one, it has significantly impacted their feeling of safety in the community,” the Stuff quoted Rielly as saying.

Singh’s lawyer, Tony Bamford, presented a letter at the court, confirming the 190 hours of community work he had undertaken at an animal welfare organisation in New Zealand.

Rielly said Singh’s son had organised counselling for him on his return to India, and that he accepted it was no longer appropriate for his father to remain in New Zealand.

Singh, who is supposed to leave for India on Tuesday, was given credit for his remorse, his community work and for his early guilty plea.

The judge accepted that he was remorseful after having read “carefully worded” letters of apology to each of the three victims.