J-pop singer Kenshin Kamimura was found guilty on Wednesday by a Hong Kong court of indecent assault on a woman who was his interpreter at a fan meeting last March. Kamimura, 26, a former member of six-member boy group One N' Only, pleaded not guilty in April and decided not to testify when his trial was held in July.
Magistrate Peter Yu criticized Kamimura's behavior as being "obviously disrespect towards women" and implied that the singer's numerous touches had a sexual connotation. Kamimura was fined HK$15,000 (around $1,923) after his lawyer fought for a money penalty over jail time.
As he heard the verdict, Kamimura hugged his court interpreter. Fans in the public gallery cried, while dozens more stood outside waiting as he emerged from court without speaking.
The victim, who was only known as X, informed the court that Kamimura and actor Junsei Motojima had employed her as a fan meeting interpreter at an event in Hong Kong on March 1. After the event, they had gone to a victory dinner in the Mong Kok district.
By her own account, Kamimura sat next to her and proposed toasting, constantly brushing and patting her thigh, and proposed that they go to the restroom together. He asked in Chinese and Japanese if she understood. X stated she declined, saying, "If you want to go, you can go by yourself."
The victim told how Kamimura stood in her way when she tried to move away, and even after she went back to her seat, he made more inappropriate advances, inquiring about whether she was single and brushing two to three times her inner thigh.
Kamimura's lawyer explained that the singer had no intention to coerce or intimidate the victim and indicated that perhaps alcohol had clouded his judgment. Magistrate Yu remarked, nevertheless, that Kamimura had already paid a high personal cost for what he did, including instant firing by his company and having to quit his boy band.
The case has highlighted concerns of misconduct and accountability in the entertainment industry and the penalties that are meted out to public figures for such behavior.
Though the fine was imposed as a non-custodial sentence, the court conveyed the gravity of Kamimura's behavior and denounced it as unacceptable treatment of women.
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