Indian national jailed for 13 years in Australia

Aug 25, 2010 |

Melbourne

An Australian court on Wednesday jailed an Indian national for 13 years for raping a young university student here in 2009. Harjot Hundal Singh, 27, dragged the woman into his van, tied her hands and told her to stop shouting or he would kill her, according to AAP report on Wednesday.

Singh also punched the 19-year-old girl who had been walking home from Springvale station in Melbourne's east in June 2009, and grabbed her around the throat before pulling her pants and underwear off.

He drove the van for a few minutes before stopping and raping the student. Singh was arrested at Melbourne Airport a few days later with a one-way ticket to Dubai with a connecting ticket to India.

Victorian County court judge Marilyn Harbison jailed Singh for 13 years and ordered he serve nine years before being eligible for parole.

"You abducted your victim, a soft target, on a suburban street. You ignored your victim's pleas," she said, adding, "In my view your offending makes it plain that unless rehabilitated, you are a danger to the sexual safety of women."

Singh, formerly of Springvale, who has already served 425 days in custody, is expected to be deported at the end of his sentence.

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