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Yoga instructor who molested student thrice jailed 9 months and fined

Singapore’s State Courts. (PHOTO: Yahoo News Singapore)
Singapore’s State Courts. (PHOTO: Yahoo News Singapore)

A yoga instructor who groped his student thrice was jailed for nine months and fined $1,000 on Monday (2 April).

Indian national Rakesh Kumar Prasad, 26, who claimed trial to charges of outrage of modesty and using criminal force on the now 28-year-old victim in 2015, plans to appeal against his conviction and filed a stay of his sentence.

His lawyer, Steven Lam, who sought nine months for his client, submitted some 50 testimonials from Rakesh’s past students and employers as a testament to his client’s “good moral character”. Rakesh was an instructor at Real Yoga Tampines outlet when the incident occurred.

“It would be apparent from reading the testimonials that each testimonial is unique to the individual writer’s personal experience with Rakesh,” said Lam.

Rakesh, who came to Singapore to work in 2013, had to stay in Singapore for three years pending his court case and he also missed his sister’s wedding, Lam added.

The testimonials were noted by District Judge Luke Tan, who said that these lent support to the idea that the offence was “out of character”.

However, the judge pointed out that the offence involved skin to skin contact as Rakesh had reached under the victim’s sports bra to touch her breast. Rakesh had also touched the victim three times in a single session after pretending to assist her.

The victim, an assistant manager, testified during the trial that she was in a forward-bending pose when Rakesh used his left hand to cup her breast over her clothing. She smacked his hand and told him not to do it. He later repeated the action, causing the victim to shout. He also pinched the victim’s breast and told her to bend deeper, prompting the victim to smack his hand away.

A while later, while doing the pose, Rakesh attempted to slip his left hand into her bra but was prevented from doing so by the victim.

The defence argued then that the yoga student made the allegations against Rakesh as she wanted a refund of her remaining membership at Real Yoga, which was supposedly non-refundable. The student sought a refund as her parents were against her yoga practice, said Lam.

The prosecution had sought 12 months’ jail and three strokes of the cane for Rakesh.

For molest, Rakesh could have been jailed two years, fined and caned. For using criminal force, he could have been jailed three months and fined a maximum $1,500.