Ankit Sharma was acquitted on May 25, 2026, when the High Court overturned his conviction for molesting a woman in a nursing room at Changi City Point in Singapore [1, 2, 3, 4].
Sharma had been sentenced in 2025 to four years in jail and six strokes of the cane for the incident, which allegedly took place on March 1, 2023 [1, 2, 3, 4]. The woman had met Sharma for the first time that evening to discuss a potential job opening. They drank at a mall restaurant from around 6:30pm [1, 2, 3, 4].
The woman excused herself twice to go to the toilet, at 8:45pm and again at 9:25pm, reportedly distressed by Sharma's sexually explicit questions [1, 2, 3, 4]. After the second visit, Sharma allegedly pulled her into the nursing room, kissed her lips, and forced her to touch him [1, 2, 3, 4]. During the incident, the woman called her manager, after which Sharma stopped and left, telling her to act as if nothing had happened [1, 2, 3, 4]. The woman then called police at her manager's urging, and Sharma was arrested at the scene [1, 2, 3, 4].
The High Court found several inconsistencies in the woman's testimony, leading Judge Christopher Tan to say it "was not safe to convict the appellant as there were several inconsistencies in the woman’s testimony" [1]. He also called problematic her explanation for why she continued to stay with Sharma despite feeling distressed by his questions [3].
The woman’s identity remains protected by a gag order [1, 2, 3, 4].
