'MAS crew member didn't admit to sexual assault'

The National Union of Flight Attendants Malaysia (Nufam) today said there has been no admission of guilt by the Malaysia Airlines cabin crew member who had allegedly sexually assaulted a passenger.

Stressing that such media reports were untrue, the union also said that trial through the media “should be avoided at all costs”.

“Unsupported allegations are extremely painful for the family of the crew member and such allegations are also affecting the morale of other MAS crew members,” it said in a statement today.

As such, the union called on the authorities concerned to quickly carry out a thorough investigation into the matter and provide details to the public.

“The complaint should be expeditiously completed so that the truth will prevail.”

The union said this was especially necessary since the alleged victim had released a video of the incident and had made statements to the media even before the complaint has been fully investigated.

Australian citizen Laura Bushney went public about her alleged sexual assault ordeal in an interview with Sunday Night aired on Australia's Channel Seven yesterday.

Bushney claimed the chief steward had massaged her legs under the guise of "comforting her".
      
According to Yahoo! Australia, Bushney said she could not react as she was terrified when the incident occurred on board Malaysia Airlines Flight MH20 from Kuala Lumpur to Paris on Aug 4.

An audio recording, via mobile phone, of the incident was also released where Bushney was heard sobbing as she murmured: "He's massaging my legs... I'm so scared, I just want to get off this plane."
NUFAM, meanwhile, said that the crew member concerned had periodically visited the passenger concerned to calm her down and assured her that all would be well on the flight.

“There were definitely no inappropriate acts on his part,” it said.
MAS had confirmed that the sexual assault allegation was made by the passenger against the cabin crew member.

The incident comes amid heightened scrutiny of MAS after the airline lost two of its aircraft this year, one being shot down over Ukraine and the whereabouts of the other still a mystery.