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A yoga instructor who was sentenced to nine months' jail for molesting his student during class has appealed against his conviction even as public prosecutors are pushing for a higher sentence for him.
Rakesh Kumar Prasad, 26, was sentenced to jail and fined $1,000 in April this year after a district judge found him guilty of molesting and using criminal force on his student during a class at a Real Yoga studio in Tampines on April 26, 2015.
But during an appeal hearing at the apex court yesterday, Rakesh's defence counsel Steven Lam said there was still reasonable doubt that Rakesh had molested his student.
Mr Lam said there were inconsistent points in the victim's accounts, and closed-circuit television (CCTV) recordings could not show for certain that Rakesh had groped the woman, who was 25 then.
The molestation was said to have taken place when he was helping the woman with a yoga pose in an empty classroom, said Mr Lam.
Rakesh is said to have touched the woman's chest, squeezed it and then tried to slip his hands under her clothes to feel her chest.
Mr Lam said that from CCTV footage, Rakesh's hands seemed to have been facing downwards while helping her in her pose, instead of upwards on her chest.
He also alleged the woman was looking for a refund. Only when she did not receive one did she file a police report, he said.
This point was disputed by Deputy Public Prosecutor James Chew, who called the allegation "completely baseless and highly insulting to the victim".
He noted the victim was a regular student who had already pre-booked classes prior to that incident.
Mr Chew further noted that the district judge had already seen the recordings multiple times and was correct in not drawing any inference from the recording on the direction of Rakesh's hands.
He also called for a heavier sentence of at least 12 months' jail and three strokes of the cane.
Results of the hearing will be out on Oct 12. - CARA WONG
