Indian yoga guru in Singapore jailed, caned for molesting women in yoga class

Rajpal Singh, a former yoga instructor originally from India, was sentenced on Friday to 23 months in prison and four strokes of the cane for molesting three women during yoga classes. Singh, 35, who was employed at Trust Yoga on Telok Ayer Street in Singapore at the time of the offences, no longer teaches there.

All three victims were members of the classes when he molested them.

During the sentencing, District Judge Sharmila Sripathy-Shanaz noted that Singh had "abused the trust" of the women, identified in court as Ms C, Ms V, and Ms R, according to a report by The Straits Times.

The judge emphasised the emotional and psychological harm suffered by the victims.

Ms C, who has been undergoing therapy, testified that she considered yoga classes a "safe space" and never expected to be violated by her instructor.

Ms V described her experience as "very traumatic" and said she remains deeply affected.

After a 13-day trial, Singh was convicted on May 16 of five counts of molestation involving the three women, with the judge finding their testimonies "unusually convincing".

However, Singh was acquitted of three other charges involving a fourth woman, identified as Ms Y.

Despite his conviction, Singh denied the allegations.

His defence lawyer, Anil Murkoth Changaroth, announced plans to appeal both the conviction and the sentence.

Singh’s bail was set at SGD 50,000 (USD 38,374.02).

Singh still faces two additional molestation charges, with a pre-trial conference scheduled for September 16, according to the Singapore Daily Report.