Australia: Indian jailed on rape charges

 A court in Australia jailed an Indian national for 13 years, for allegedly raping a young university student in Melbourne last year.

27-year-old Harjot Hundal Singh dragged the woman into his van, tied her hands and told her to stop shouting or he would kill her, according to an AAP report on Wednesday.

Singh also punched the woman who was 19 years old and had been walking home from Springvale station in Melbourne's east in June last year, 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.