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Cruise ship worker jailed for 30 years
The cruise ship worker who sexually assaulted and attempted to kill a female cruise passenger in her cabin last February has been sentenced to 30 years in prison.
Indonesian national Ketut Pujayasa, 29, was handed a 30-year and five-month sentence in federal prison for aggravated sexual assault and attempted murder for the Valentine’s Day attack.
Room attendant Pujayasa entered the woman’s cabin on the Holland America ship Nieuw Amsterdam using a master key and violently attacked her, claiming his actions were for retribution for an insult to his mother earlier in the day.
According to reports, he assaulted the woman and then tried to throw her into the sea from the balcony of her cabin.
Other passengers interrupted the attack and Pujayasa fled by jumping over neighbouring cabin balconies. He later confessed to ship security workers and FBI agents.
The woman, aged 31, suffered fractures to her spine, skull and face and now suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder.
Pujayasa had admitted the offences and asked for forgiveness.
"I’m fully aware that whatever punishment goes to me will not ever pay for the mistake that I made," he said in court.
The court heard he had grown up in a violent and poor household.
He will be deported after serving his time and is required to undergo treatment for anger management in prison, the judge ordered.
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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