January 2008 MAN JAILED FOR 21 MONTHS FOR SEX ASSAULT A BUSINESSMAN whose last address was in Jane Street, Workington, has been sent to prison for 21 months. Thiru Chavlan Markandoo, 55, was jailed for a year for the assault at the Seacote Hotel in St Bees and an extra nine months for asking one of his employees to lie to clear his name. A judge at Carlisle Crown Court told the Malaysia-born entrepreneur: “The whole context in which you did this was deeply unsavoury and unpleasant.” Markandoo, who pleaded guilty to sexual assault and trying to pervert the course of justice, was ordered to register as a sex offender for 10 years. He was also banned from having unsupervised contact with anyone under 16 for the next five years. Prosecuting counsel Kim Whittlestone said the assault happened on April 9 last year when the 16-year-old arrived at the Seacote Hotel’s Beachcomber bar. Markandoo, who had been watching porn videos in his office, gave the boy more alcohol and offered him a room for the night after telling him he was too drunk to go home. After watching some of the sex DVDs the boy went upstairs where, once he was asleep, Markandoo touched him inappropriately between the legs, outside his clothing, Ms Whittlestone said. He stopped as soon as the boy told him to, she said. Five weeks later, after being charged with the sex assault, Markandoo tried to persuade one of his staff to falsely say that the incident had not happened. In mitigation defence barrister Lloyd Morgan said Markandoo deeply regretted what he had done and only tried to get his employee to give false evidence because he feared losing his good name. “As a businessman he was extremely worried and anxious to preserve his reputation in the locality,” Mr Morgan said. The hotel has since been sold. Markandoo, whose last address was Jane Street, Workington, will be back in court next month to hear whether the prosecution intends to continue with an allegation that he illegally abstracted electricity. At that hearing he could also be ordered to pay the legal costs of the case from the £40,000 cash he had on him when he was arrested at Manchester Airport while attempting to skip bail and leave the country.