Swiss Man Jailed for Molesting Attendants on Cathay Pacific Flight to Hong Kong

A Swiss man was jailed for 30 days on Thursday after admitting to molesting three attendants on a Cathay Pacific flight.

Rolf Rimann, 46, pressed the lower part of his body against flight attendant X and touched flight attendant Y's buttock when he was flying from Zurich to Hong Kong in September, Tsuen Wan Court heard.

After molesting the two, Rimann grabbed the waist of a third flight attendant, Z.

He pleaded guilty to three counts of indecent assault.

The court heard that Rimann touched Y for as long as three seconds and denied touching Z when he was confronted by the attendant, who felt humiliated after the assault.

The court did not reveal the identities of the flight attendants for privacy reasons.

The Swiss man, who was on flight CX382, had consumed two glasses of red and one of white wine before the incident, the court heard.

X told Y and Z about Rimann's assault on her shortly before her colleagues also became victims.

The three then notified their manager, who -- with the consent of the flight captain -- issued Rimann a warning letter.

"I will not do it again," Rimann told the manager after receiving the letter.

Police were called after the plane touched down in Hong Kong.

Under police caution, Rimann made an admission and said he was sorry and regretted what he had done.

Acting Principal Magistrate Cheang Kei-hong heard in mitigation that the defendant, a father of one son and one daughter, resided in the Philippines.

A letter written to the court by the passenger sitting next to him suggested that Rimann was under the heavy influence of alcohol at the time of the offence.

In handing down the jail sentence, Cheang stressed that the case was serious in that the flight attendants had to continue serving the defendant throughout the journey.