Overview

• Sharma, 46, was convicted of one count of aggravated outrage of modesty and received four years' imprisonment and six strokes of the cane.
• The offence occurred on Mar 1, 2023, after a first meeting at Changi City Point where a recruiter had met him for professional discussions that shifted to intrusive personal questions over drinks.
• Prosecutors said he pulled the woman into a nursing room, kissed her forcefully, restrained her, made repeated sexual advances, and tried to remove her underwear, calling the exploitation extremely high.
• The defence claimed the encounter was consensual and cited a remark about her bad breath, but the court rejected this and aligned the sentence with the prosecution’s request.
• The victim, whose identity is protected by a gag order, testified to anxiety, trust issues, and work impacts, and the offence carries a potential two to 10 years’ jail term with caning under Singapore law.