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SINGAPORE – A Trust Yoga co-founder has initiated legal proceedings against a former student in the latest development following allegations of nuisance against one of the yoga studio’s male instructors.
Yoga instructor Wong Shiou An, who co-owns the business with fellow instructor Manoj Kumar Deshwal, accused Judy Ni Chia Min of harassing her over allegations that the Trust had mishandled complaints of sexual misconduct involving one of their teachers.
The complaints and complaints were made public on social networks, where they subsequently went viral, at the end of July. The yoga teacher at the center of the abuse allegations has been put on leave.
She has appointed Invictus Law attorneys Josephus Tan and Darren Tan to act on her behalf and the lawsuit is still in the pretrial conference stage.
“Essentially, I am taking the position that it was justified to contact the manager regarding my membership issues with Trust Yoga,” Ni said.
He declined to elaborate as the case is before the courts.
Like Ni, several students have tried unsuccessfully to obtain refunds from the Trust following allegations of sexual misconduct.
When contacted, the Executive Director of the Singapore Consumers Association (CASE), Loy York Jiun, said that from July 13 to September 23, a total of 11 complaints were filed against Trust.
Consumers reported that they were unable to terminate their agreements with Trust or obtain a refund for unused sessions, Loy said. The complaints include how their contractual arrangement did not have a refund policy. The students had wanted to terminate their memberships due to allegations of sexual misconduct, Loy added.
CASE advises consumers to understand and accept the terms of any contract before signing a package.
A current student with Trust who was unable to get a refund for unused sessions after the abuse allegations, and who later decided to continue her classes for the remaining two months of her package, said: “The reason I was asking a refund (is) your (way) unethical and irresponsible in handling the incident. And the reason I continue with them is because I don’t think I can get my refund before I leave Singapore … So I’m trying to finish the sessions. “
A 29-year-old former member, who made a police report alleging that she, too, was the victim of sexual abuse by the same instructor at the center of the saga, said she messaged Wong on August 6 to demand a refund your membership. Rate. However, Wong had asked her to sign a termination form that included the phrase: “She requests to terminate the membership after another [sic] member. “The woman has an unused package worth $ 1,782 that was supposed to have started in mid-August.
When he asked Wong about the clause, Wong allegedly stopped responding to his text messages.
The woman, who works in the financial industry, turned to CASE for help, but that too proved futile. Since then she has filed a case with the Small Claims Court.
“To be honest, it’s not about money right now… it’s about fighting for what’s right. If I don’t do something about it, it means I approve … I am willing to pay the money or whatever is necessary to fight (this), ”she said.
He added that “it’s no longer just about me.” “Besides myself, I think I’m also speaking for … people who have been through this, but can’t come forward.”
He said the instructor had hit him on the buttocks during a class in mid-November last year.
Multiple police reports made
The story continues
The five women, ages 20 to 30, reported that the male instructor had touched their private parts while helping them with the yoga positions.
One woman felt his hand on her crotch while performing a handstand, while another claimed that the man had struck her on the buttocks while making a reversal. Most said they were uncomfortable with the touches, but had ignored them; They said they were not experienced yoga practitioners and had trusted the instructor. The man also apparently acted as if nothing untoward had happened after the alleged events.
It was only after one of the alleged victims took to social media to air her complaints that the other women began to think that the man’s actions might have been deliberate.
The first alleged victim took to Instagram to detail two acts of sexual harassment that occurred during a class on July 11 of this year.
While he was in a forward fold, he said the teacher had hit his left buttock. Later, when she made an inversion, the teacher allegedly stroked her buttocks and crotch area.
The woman said she was stunned by the teacher’s actions and experienced great anxiety from then on. The next day, when she confronted the studio owners, the latter allegedly deflected the allegations by claiming that the teacher was a good instructor with a strong fan base.
On August 3, the studio posted a statement on its Facebook page, saying that it took the allegations of sexual misconduct seriously and that the teacher had been placed on a leave of absence pending internal investigations. The statement added that the study “will further strengthen internal reporting mechanisms to ensure an optimal learning environment for our students.”
In a second statement on August 25, the studio said it had added more CCTV to its facilities and refined its standard operating procedures on reporting and complaint resolution. He also raised concerns about how staff members and a student were “publicly attacked online for speaking on behalf of the accused (teacher)” in a Facebook post.
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