A masseur told a client that he was giving her a “special massage” when he touched her intimately, a court heard on Wednesday afternoon. 

Harikrishna Manhasseri, a 25-year-old born in Kerala, India, pleaded guilty to committing a non-consensual sexual act upon his arraignment in court. 

Manhasseri was charged after an English woman filed a report at the Qawra police station on Tuesday afternoon, claiming that a masseur at a Mellieha hotel she was staying at had touched her inappropriately during a massage on Saturday evening. 

The woman had booked a massage at the Maritim Antonine Hotel’s spa. When she showed up, the accused had told her to lie down on the bench face down. 

After massaging her neck, shoulders and face, he told the woman to turn face up. 

That was when he began to touch her breasts, pinching her nipples.

The woman later explained that although she had felt uncomfortable, she remained silent and said nothing, thinking that it was all part of a professional service. 

But when the man asked her to remove her underpants, that was a step too far. 

When she refused, he touched her genitals without penetrating her, telling her that “it was a special massage for her.” 

The woman flatly said “no” and the man pulled his hand away, apparently realising that he had done something wrong. He then continued to massage her neck, somewhat vigorously.

But the woman told him to stop, got up and walked out of the room, heading to the spa manageress to complain. 

The hotel manager provided the customer with the suspect’s Indian passport details, to help her when filing a report with the police. 

Investigators obtained an arrest warrant on Tuesday and arrested the accused at the Mġarr residence where he lived. 

Interpretation troubles

The man’s arraignment was delayed by well over an hour due to trouble with sourcing an appropriate interpreter, as the accused claimed not to understand enough Hindi to rely on that language. 

As the court waited for an interpreter who could translate proceedings into his native tongue, Malayalam, the accused and the Hindi translator chatted, apparently with ease. 

That irritated the magistrate. 

“I’ve been observing you for the last five minutes speaking fluently,” the magistrate remarked. “You told us that you don’t understand her language, yet now you appear to speak without difficulty! The court gave you the benefit of the doubt but you seem to have been taking us all for a ride.” 

The man stood up, mumbling, “I understand some words in Hindi but not all. I cannot understand.” 

The incident stopped there as the new interpreter entered the hall and took his place next to the accused, as the hearing finally got underway.

Assisted by two interpreters, Maltese to English and English to Malayalam, the man registered an admission in court on Wednesday, confirming that plea after being given sufficient time to again consult his lawyer and reconsider his position. 

When making submissions on punishment, attorney general lawyer Darlene Grima said that although the offence was liable to imprisonment for a term between three and seven years, the prosecution believed that the accused could be spared an effective jail term. 

Defence lawyer Daniel Attard highlighted the fact that the accused had an untainted criminal record and argued that the case did not merit an effective jail term.After hearing submissions, the court, presided over by magistrate Leonard Caruana, placed the accused under a two-year probation order, directing any future probation officer to consider whether the man needed treatment for any particular condition he might assess. 

“This is not an out-of-jail card. This does not mean that he’s free to do what he pleases,” the magistrate said, asking the interpreters to translate. 

If the accused were to commit a crime within these two years, the court would re-open the case and award punishment for both crimes. 

The court also issued a two-year restraining order, warning the accused that he was not to approach or communicate with the victim in any way. 

Inspector Christian Cauchi prosecuted, assisted by AG lawyers Darlene Grima and Danika Vella.