Woman 'told to prove she was lactating' at German airport

A woman says she was "humiliated" at Frankfurt airport after police allegedly forced her to prove she was lactating by asking her to squeeze her breast.

Gayathiri Bose, from Singapore, told the BBC she was exploring legal action after the "traumatising" experience.

She said she was stopped after police became suspicious because she was carrying a breast pump but travelling without a baby.

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The pump was spotted in her carry-on bag when she went through the x-ray machines at security.

She said: "[They had] an incredulous tone. 'You are breastfeeding? Then where is your baby? Your baby is in Singapore?'"

When the police did not believe the item was a breast pump, Bose was led by a female officer into a separate room for further questioning.

"[The officer] asked me to open up my blouse and show her my breast. She then asked how come I didn't have anything attached to my breast if I was lactating and expressing breast milk," she said.

"I said, 'There is no such thing that is [permanently] attached; we usually place the pump to our nipple and the machine does the job.'

"She wanted me to show her by hand-expressing a little."

Bose said she complied and squeezed her breast. She added: "I was just in shock. I was going through the motions. I was all by myself as well and wasn't sure what would happen to me if they decided to make trouble for me.

"It was only when I came out of the room that I began to slowly understand what had just happened. I just started to cry. I was terribly upset."

The German federal police unit at Frankfurt airport did not provide a comment to the BBC on Bose's allegations, but a spokesman said: "If a suspected explosive is detected at an air safety control point, the baggage and the person must be searched.

"The measures you have described for a breastfeeding mother are clearly not included."