The police are probing reports of sexual harassment by a university lecturer aboard a 'Maldivian' flight that traveled between Addu City and Male' on Friday.
The police revealed that a Maldivian girl was sexually harassed on the plane by an Indian national and confirmed that investigation is underway. No further information on the matter was revealed by the police.
Speaking to AVAS, the victim of the incident stated that the man was sitting in the seat in-front of her, and first turned around in his seat to stare at her. He then took a woman's lingerie out of his bag and showed the item to the girl over the armrest of the seat, He then proceeded to make strange gestures with his fingers and his tongue and showed pictures of nude women on his phone. The man continued these actions until the flight landed at Velana international Airport, she said.
She further said the flight crew were notified as soon as the plane landed and the police were also duly notified.
The victim shot videos of the man on her mobile phone and uploaded them to social media. Upon the circulation
of the video, other victims of the perpetrator came forward and shared their experience, confirming that this is not the first time the man has harassed women, she revealed.
The victim said that the man is a lecturer at the Thinadhoo campus of Maldives National University named Annes Mariamathias. While officials from the university have been notified of the incident, the university has not made a comment regarding the lecturer thus far.
Last week, a man was arrested for sexual harassment of a girl on the streets of Male' City. The man is being held
under state custody until the end of his trial.
