HONG KONG (AP) — Japanese pop idol Kenshin Kamimura was discovered responsible of a cost of indecent assault on a feminine interpreter in a Hong Kong court docket Wednesday earlier than some emotional followers.
Kamimura, a former member of a Japanese boy group named ONE N’ ONLY, was arrested within the southern Chinese language metropolis in March. In the identical month, his contract was terminated as a result of a critical compliance violation. In April, he pleaded not responsible.
He allegedly touched the interpreter’s thigh repeatedly throughout a celebratory dinner at a restaurant.
Throughout the trial final month, the interpreter testified by a reside video hyperlink that Kamimura had invited her to a rest room elsewhere. After she dismissed the request and informed him she had a boyfriend, Kamimura continued to the touch her thigh, she stated.
The protection argued the interpreter exaggerated her claims and the alleged toilet invitation won’t have been based mostly on improper motives.
Choose Peter Yu handed down the conviction Wednesday, saying Kamimura touched the intrepreter in a caressing nature that implicitly carried a sexual undertone and had indecent intent.
“The defendant’s acts are obviously disrespectful toward women,” Yu stated. “Such behaviour should be condemned.”
In pleading for a lesser penalty, the protection stated Kamimura beforehand had a promising future and paid a heavy worth.
After the decision was introduced, just a few of Kamimura’s followers wept within the courtroom. However Kamimura seemed relieved and hugged his courtroom translator when the decide issued a high-quality of 15,000 Hong Kong {dollars} (about $1,900) and no jail time period. The utmost penalty for the cost is 10 years of imprisonment.
The singer’s supporters, together with some from Japan and mainland China, shaped lengthy strains contained in the court docket constructing to safe a seat in the primary courtroom earlier than the listening to. After the listening to, they waited exterior to see Kamimura, who didn’t communicate earlier than leaving in a automotive.
Others from mainland China who attended stated they weren’t followers however needed to be taught extra concerning the case, particularly after seeing criticism of the feminine interpreter on-line.
College scholar Betty Zhong from the Chinese language metropolis of Shenzhen stated she was not a Kamimura fan however attended the court docket hearings in Hong Kong as a result of a pal likes the J-pop idol and she or he needed to know what occurred. She stated she was stunned Kamimura was charged throughout a go to to Hong Kong.
“News reports are not so comprehensive. When I come here, I can understand it holistically and the explanations from both sides,” she stated.
Kamimura is also an actor who appeared in a number of TV dramas together with the boys’ love collection “Our Youth” and the favored drama “Ossan’s Love Returns.”
