A Thai woman has described waking up to find a fellow passenger touching her inappropriately during an overnight flight from Dubai to Bangkok, next to her four-year-old daughter.
The victim, “Beaut Aornnicha”, shared her story on her Facebook page on Aug 3, saying that she was travelling with her four-year-old daughter when the incident occurred.
Shortly after the flight left Dubai, she noticed a Pakistani man seated nearby resting his arm on her seat. She found the behaviour odd but thought little more of it and later fell asleep beside her daughter.
She said she woke to find a hand touching her near her right buttock, along with a wet sensation in the area. She said she had been sleeping with a blanket.
At first she wondered whether she had imagined it, but grew increasingly suspicious after noticing the man staring at her and fidgeting with the in-flight entertainment screen.
She said she had taken a sleeping pill before boarding to help adjust to the time difference, and had been in a deep sleep. She believes the man began touching her while she was unconscious, and that she only woke partway through.
About 90 minutes before landing, she informed a flight attendant about what had happened. The attendant confronted the man, who admitted to the act, wept and repeatedly apologised, but Ms Aornnicha refused to let the matter drop and asked for police to meet the flight.
A Thai crew member who came to assist reportedly noticed a stain on her trousers, which she said left her further shaken by the realisation of what had occurred while she slept.
In an update posted on Aug 5, she said the Tourist Police had pursued the case and confirmed that the offender was sentenced to three years in prison and fined 120,000 baht. He will also be subject to a re-entry ban.
Ms Aornnicha, who described herself as a frequent international traveller, said she had never experienced anything like it despite flying often. She urged others to share her post as a caution to fellow air travellers, particularly around unfamiliar seatmates, and to remain vigilant while travelling.
