Travellers, especially women, should take heed of a warning not to trust strangers on the plane. If they don’t, they could end up rape victims.

A friend emailed us such a warning, saying, “I really find it hard to believe such an incident can happen on the plane but nothing is impossible nowadays. So for any of you or spouses who are travelling alone, take note.”

The emailed warning mentions the name of the airline where four rape cases have taken place, but I will not mention the airline. My friend writes that his information is from an official in Singapore at the Department of Tourism. Actually, my friend writes, a lot of rape and abuse cases are reported in newspapers in Middle East countries. “Their government will protect their own citizens and usually turn a blind eye towards the victims (foreigners) or even jail them for supposedly making false accusations.”

As the story goes, during Christmas of 2005, this airline flew from Dubai to Manila. Four hours into the flight, when most passengers were sleeping or dozing off, a man approached a lady who was alone and asked her to assist his child in the bathroom. Without second thought, the lady followed the man to the rear of the plane. Immediately she was grabbed by the man’s three accomplices who gagged and taped her mouth, then all four men took turns raping her. Then they forced her to drink a drug-laced drink and escorted her to her seat. She was knocked off until she arrived in Manila, by which time the four men had disembarked and gotten away.

A repeat case happened on another flight. This was followed by two other rape cases on the same airline. But the worst was when the victim was not only raped on flight but taken through immigration and raped for several days and then later on sold to the underground.

Whenever the airline staff are aware of suspicious incidents taking place, they make it a point to avoid going to the back of the plane. So, ladies traveling alone, beware. Rape can happen on any airline.