A RESTAURANT boss has been cleared of sexually assaulting four women after they failed to appear at court to give evidence.

Manoj Kumar, 42, was accused of abusing the women at a restaurant in one of Scotland’s biggest leisure complexes.

But Kumar, boss of Buffet Kitchen at Soar, Braehead, walked free from Paisley Sheriff Court.

He faced a total of five charges - four under the Sexual Offences (Scotland) Act 2009 by fondling the women, who can’t be named for legal reasons, against their will and one of threatening or abusive behaviour by making “comments of an inappropriate sexual nature” in their presence.

Kumar, of Livingston, denied repeatedly sexually assaulting the women between November 1, 2015, and May 16 last year.

Procurator fiscal depute Frank Clarke made a motion to have the case adjourned to allow the witnesses to turn up.

However, defence solicitor Eamonn McGeehan opposed the motion.

As he deserted the case, Sheriff Craig Harris said: “Although the charges are serious in nature, this is the third trial diet and all Crown witnesses have failed to appear when there’s evidence suggesting they all knew of today’s date and four out of five failed to appear on the last occasion.”