Former Trust Yoga instructor, 34, convicted of molesting 3 women who attended his classes
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SINGAPORE — A former yoga instructor was on Thursday (May 16) found guilty of five counts of molesting three women during yoga sessions he conducted.
But Rajpal Singh, 34, was also acquitted of three other molest charges, after the judge found that the fourth victim had supported him through WhatsApp messages to the yoga studio’s owner and judged this to be “incongruent with her allegations of molest”.
Singh, who is an Indian national, had earlier claimed trial to eight counts of outrage of modesty. He was accused of smacking his victims' buttocks and touching their private parts during his classes at a Trust Yoga outlet in Telok Ayer.
The outlet has since closed down.
None of the women can be identified because of a court order protecting their identities.
The incident made headlines in July 2020 after a former student alleged in a viral social media post that she was sexually assaulted at one of Trust Yoga's studios.
This later prompted more women to come forward with allegations that they, too, were molested by an instructor.
The yoga studio said in a statement in August 2020 that the instructor involved in the incident had agreed to go on leave after internal investigations, and that Trust Yoga was cooperating with the authorities on the matter.
Singh will be back in court on July 15 for sentencing. His bail was also increased by S$10,000 on Thursday to S$25,000.
In that time, Singh had molested the three women, who were aged between 24 and 29 at the time.
Sometime in November 2019, Singh slapped the buttocks of his first victim while she was getting up from a yoga pose known as the forward bend.
The victim felt "disoriented, confused, angry and shocked" when Singh touched her, the court heard.
Despite this ordeal, she also continued to attend some of Singh’s classes as she wanted to “suppress the assault” and put the incident aside.
She also contemplated raising the incident after the class, but ultimately decided not to as she was struggling to come to terms with it.
In a separate incident occurring on two separate occasions between September 2019 and March 2020, Singh molested another victim while she was performing a yoga pose too.
Likewise, the second victim continued with her lessons at the time of the incident as she had seen Singh doing the same to other students, who did not react.
She thought at the time that this was just his “way of teaching”, the court heard.
The victim only reflected upon these incidents when she subsequently read accounts of other girls online who had been through a similar situation, which convinced her that her experiences "were not mere accidents as she had wanted to believe initially".
Later, on July 11, 2020, Singh molested his third victim by touching her private parts while she was in different yoga poses during a class. This was captured by a closed-circuit television (CCTV).
Shocked and confused by his actions, the victim also did not immediately express her discomfort as she did not know how to react.
But the truth came to light later when she spoke to a friend and her parents, and then informed Trust Yoga’s managers the next day, court documents stated.
She made two police reports regarding the incident on July 13 and Aug 18 in 2020.
The court also heard that the earlier two victims made police reports after that, following the posts by the third victim.
The court also heard Singh was placed on leave of absence from Aug 3, 2020 following the accusations.
She noted that Singh himself stated during the trial that no yoga adjustments would necessitate touching a student’s private parts.
Singh had also told the court that he was “very careful” not to touch his student’s private parts when making yoga adjustments, said the judge.
Even though all three victims did not sound out their discomfort to Singh immediately, the judge said their evidence was not undermined by their non-actions at the time of the offences.
“Our legal system recognises that each individual’s reaction to trauma is unique and personal,” said the judge.
“Therefore, the absence of immediate confrontation should not be viewed as a marker of the credibility or veracity of a complainant’s claim.”
She added that it is important the court does not assess evidence based on “preconceived notions of how a victim should act or react, or in (Singh’s) words, what ‘common sense’ dictates.”
Singh had earlier testified in court that the victims' post-incident behaviour had "notable lapses in common sense" which affected their credibility.
Addressing the three charges against Singh that were withdrawn, the judge said evidence from the fourth woman was incongruent with her allegations of molest.
This evidence, which District Judge Sripathy-Shanaz described as “continued active, unsolicited and vocal support” of Singh, refers to several WhatsApp messages the woman had sent to vouch for the instructor.
“This gives rise to reservations about the reliability of her narrative, notwithstanding her explanations in court, and ultimately constrains a finding that her testimony is unusually convincing,” said the judge.
For each count of outrage of modesty, Singh faces up to two years’ jail, or fined with or without caning, or any combination of such punishments.
www.todayonline.com
SINGAPORE — A former yoga instructor was on Thursday (May 16) found guilty of five counts of molesting three women during yoga sessions he conducted.
But Rajpal Singh, 34, was also acquitted of three other molest charges, after the judge found that the fourth victim had supported him through WhatsApp messages to the yoga studio’s owner and judged this to be “incongruent with her allegations of molest”.
Singh, who is an Indian national, had earlier claimed trial to eight counts of outrage of modesty. He was accused of smacking his victims' buttocks and touching their private parts during his classes at a Trust Yoga outlet in Telok Ayer.
The outlet has since closed down.
None of the women can be identified because of a court order protecting their identities.
The incident made headlines in July 2020 after a former student alleged in a viral social media post that she was sexually assaulted at one of Trust Yoga's studios.
This later prompted more women to come forward with allegations that they, too, were molested by an instructor.
The yoga studio said in a statement in August 2020 that the instructor involved in the incident had agreed to go on leave after internal investigations, and that Trust Yoga was cooperating with the authorities on the matter.
Singh will be back in court on July 15 for sentencing. His bail was also increased by S$10,000 on Thursday to S$25,000.
WHAT HAPPENED
The court heard that Singh had worked as a yoga instructor at Trust Yoga from April 1, 2019, and was on a two-year contract until March 31, 2021.In that time, Singh had molested the three women, who were aged between 24 and 29 at the time.
Sometime in November 2019, Singh slapped the buttocks of his first victim while she was getting up from a yoga pose known as the forward bend.
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Scroll to continue with contentThe victim felt "disoriented, confused, angry and shocked" when Singh touched her, the court heard.
Despite this ordeal, she also continued to attend some of Singh’s classes as she wanted to “suppress the assault” and put the incident aside.
She also contemplated raising the incident after the class, but ultimately decided not to as she was struggling to come to terms with it.
In a separate incident occurring on two separate occasions between September 2019 and March 2020, Singh molested another victim while she was performing a yoga pose too.
Likewise, the second victim continued with her lessons at the time of the incident as she had seen Singh doing the same to other students, who did not react.
She thought at the time that this was just his “way of teaching”, the court heard.
The victim only reflected upon these incidents when she subsequently read accounts of other girls online who had been through a similar situation, which convinced her that her experiences "were not mere accidents as she had wanted to believe initially".
Later, on July 11, 2020, Singh molested his third victim by touching her private parts while she was in different yoga poses during a class. This was captured by a closed-circuit television (CCTV).
Shocked and confused by his actions, the victim also did not immediately express her discomfort as she did not know how to react.
But the truth came to light later when she spoke to a friend and her parents, and then informed Trust Yoga’s managers the next day, court documents stated.
She made two police reports regarding the incident on July 13 and Aug 18 in 2020.
The court also heard that the earlier two victims made police reports after that, following the posts by the third victim.
The court also heard Singh was placed on leave of absence from Aug 3, 2020 following the accusations.
INCONSISTENCIES
In her oral judgement, District Judge Sharmila Sripathy-Shanaz highlighted several inconsistencies in Singh's testimony, such as him claiming to have touched a victim’s thigh in court although he had told the police that he touched her hip.She noted that Singh himself stated during the trial that no yoga adjustments would necessitate touching a student’s private parts.
Singh had also told the court that he was “very careful” not to touch his student’s private parts when making yoga adjustments, said the judge.
Even though all three victims did not sound out their discomfort to Singh immediately, the judge said their evidence was not undermined by their non-actions at the time of the offences.
“Our legal system recognises that each individual’s reaction to trauma is unique and personal,” said the judge.
“Therefore, the absence of immediate confrontation should not be viewed as a marker of the credibility or veracity of a complainant’s claim.”
She added that it is important the court does not assess evidence based on “preconceived notions of how a victim should act or react, or in (Singh’s) words, what ‘common sense’ dictates.”
Singh had earlier testified in court that the victims' post-incident behaviour had "notable lapses in common sense" which affected their credibility.
Addressing the three charges against Singh that were withdrawn, the judge said evidence from the fourth woman was incongruent with her allegations of molest.
This evidence, which District Judge Sripathy-Shanaz described as “continued active, unsolicited and vocal support” of Singh, refers to several WhatsApp messages the woman had sent to vouch for the instructor.
“This gives rise to reservations about the reliability of her narrative, notwithstanding her explanations in court, and ultimately constrains a finding that her testimony is unusually convincing,” said the judge.
For each count of outrage of modesty, Singh faces up to two years’ jail, or fined with or without caning, or any combination of such punishments.
