Yoga guru molests woman, arrested
Singapore: An Indian yoga instructor here has been sentenced to nine months' jail and a fine of 1,000 Singapore dollars for molesting a woman.
Rakesh Kumar Prasad, 26, was sentenced on Monday after he was found guilty of "outraging the modesty of a woman" and "using criminal force on her", the Strait Times reported on Tuesday. The trial in the court began in 2016.
Prasad, who was trained and certified in Kolkata, reportedly cupped and pinched his assistant manager's breast while she was doing yoga on April 26, 2015.
Despite the woman's resistance and being told to stop, Prasad molested her again in a similar manner.
In his submission, Deputy Public Prosecutor James Chew said: "The victim ... did not leave the class or seek help immediately because she was in a state of shock and disbelief. She felt helpless in that environment and did not know what to do.
"She had felt violated and embarrassed by the accused's actions and was in disbelief that this could happen to her in a yoga class," Chew said.
The court heard that while the woman was walking out of the studio after the class, Prasad grabbed her neck and pulled her backwards. The woman alerted the police the next day.
Defence lawyer Steven Lam pleaded for a nine-month jail term for Prasad and stressed that the touches were "fleeting".
The Indian national, according to a report in Channel News Asia, plans to appeal against his conviction and is out on a bail of 16,000 Singapore dollars.
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Chinese astronauts return to earth safely after six-month stint in space station
Beijing, Nov 4: Three Chinese astronauts who spent six months developing China’s low orbit space station returned to Earth safely early Monday, the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) said.
The capsule of the spaceship Shenzhou-18' carrying astronauts Ye Guangfu, Li Cong and Li Guangsu, touched down at the Dongfeng landing site in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region at 1:24 am (Beijing Time).
The three astronauts, after staying in orbit for 192 days, were all in good health and the Shenzhou-18 manned mission was a success, the CMSA said.
Ye, the Shenzhou-18 mission commander, has become the first Chinese astronaut with an accumulative spaceflight time of more than a year, setting a new record for the longest duration of stay in orbit by a Chinese astronaut.
He served as a crew member in the Shenzhou-13 mission from October 2021 to April 2022.
"Chinese astronauts have flown to space in successive missions. I believe that the record of the duration in orbit will be broken in the near future," Ye said.
Another astronaut Li Guangsu said that they grew two types of plants -- cherry tomatoes and lettuce -- and they had harvested some lettuce leaves for food.
"Being able to eat fresh vegetables in space is truly a blessing. These green plants have also brought a touch of green and good cheer to our busy work," Li was quoted by state-run Xinhua news agency.
China launched the Shenzhou-18 manned spaceship in April this year.
During the mission, the Shenzhou-18 crew utilised the scientific experiment cabinets and extravehicular payloads to carry out dozens of experiments in the fields of basic physics in microgravity, space material science, space life science, space medicine and space technology, Xinhua report said.
The three were relieved by another set of three Chinese astronauts, including a woman who docked with the orbiting space station on October 30.
China changes crew for the station every six months.
China built its space station after it was reportedly excluded from the International Space Station (ISS) over concerns that China's space programme is manned by its military, the People's Liberation Army, (PLA).
The two robotic arms of the station, especially the long one which has the ability to grab objects including satellites from space, drew international concerns.
Early this month China announced its plans for the further development of space programmes which included launching a manned lunar mission, construction of a lunar space station, exploration of habitable planets and extra-terrestrial life to expand its space programme in the next few decades.
