J-pop star Kenshin Kamimura, 26, was considered guilty by a Hong Kong court on Wednesday for indecent aggression in March to a woman who served as her interpreter during a fan event.
Kamimura, 26, was previously a member of six members One N ‘Only. He declared himself innocent in April and chose not to testify during July.
Magistrate Peter Yu said Kamimura’s behavior showed evident disrespect for women, noting that his touches suggested a sexual tone.
“Such behavior should be convicted,” said Yu, fine at $ 1,923 (about $ 10,000) after his lawyer, in mitigating argument, asked for a financial penalty rather than prison.
Listening to the sentence, Kamimura hugged her translator in court, while some fans cried in the public gallery. Dozens of others waited outside after the end of the hearing. Kamimura left the court without saying anything.
The victim, identified only as X, witnessed in July that Kamimura and the actor Junsei Motojima hired her as an interpreter to translate during a Hong Kong fan meeting on March 1. The group then participated in a commemoration dinner in a restaurant in the district of Mong Kok, in the city.
She told court that Kamimura moved to sit beside her during a gift session and started brushing and patted her thigh before suggesting that they went to the bathroom together. He asked both Chinese and Japanese if she knew what he meant, she added.
X said he refused, saying, “If you want to go, you can go alone.”
She stated that she then walked away to get some tea, but Kamimura blocked her way and again asked to leave. She told court she refused.
After X returned to her seat, Kamimura also returned and sat next to her. He apologized and said, “Forget what just happened,” she recalled in her statement. The singer also asked her about her relationship situation and if she planned to marry her boyfriend, she said.
Kamimura then touched the inside of her thigh with the back of her right hand, said X to court. She cringed, but he repeated the action about two or three times.
Kamimura’s lawyer stated in mitigating argument that her client had no intention of coercing or threatening and that alcohol may have affected her trial.
The magistrate said that Kamimura paid a very high price for the incident, stating that he was immediately fired by his company and forced to leave the band.
