Woman Called Out Male Physical Trainer for ‘Abnormal’ Touching of Butt to ‘Check Muscle


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Singapore prides itself on being one of the safest countries in the world, and indeed, it’s the safest place for women in the Asia-Pacific region, according to Value Champion.

But sexual harassment and assault are still rampant in the country, and I’m not just talking about a certain university.

The #metoo movement has given victims of sexual misconduct the strength to come forward, which is why we’re seeing more and more victims tell their harrowing stories on social media.

Woman Called Out Male Physical Trainer for ‘Abnormal’ Touching of Butt to ‘Check Muscle

A female personal trainer on Instagram has called out another trainer for inappropriately touching one of his trainees during a workout.

The woman, Cheryl Loh, shared a video of the incident as well as screenshots of a conversation with the man’s female student and a lengthy description of what happened.

View this post on Instagram

❌ 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝘀 𝗔𝗕𝗦𝗢𝗟𝗨𝗧𝗘𝗟𝗬 𝗜𝗡𝗔𝗣𝗣𝗥𝗢𝗣𝗥𝗜𝗔𝗧𝗘 𝗮𝘀 𝗮 𝗰𝗼𝗮𝗰𝗵/𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗿 — 𝘄𝗮𝘁𝗰𝗵 𝘁𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗲𝗻𝗱 — ❌ When the other party is not comfortable with such action, this is considered a case of sexual assault. It is a very serious offence in Singapore, and unfortunately this has happened way too many times with coaches abusing their position and authority to do things like that. I personally consider this more despicable and disturbing than molesting a stranger – this is using the student's trust to commit such an act, which can really mindfuck a person for a long time. The coach in this video is a freelance trainer working by himself, and is not an employee of the gym. I have reached out to the client (swipe to second image) to let her know that it is NOT normal for such physical interaction during training, it is very unprofessional, and that she can speak up if she have felt uncomfortable about her coach touching inappropriately and groping during some exercises. Also spoke to her (not on text), and it turned out this was indeed her first time having a coach, facing such situation for the first time. 𝗦𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗼𝗹𝗱 𝗵𝗶𝗺 "don't touch my butt" a few times over 7 training sessions, but he still went ahead to do so, using "checking muscles" as an excuse – which many trainers will know that's complete BS. 𝗔𝗽𝗲𝗶𝗿𝗼 𝗣𝗲𝗿𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗱 𝗵𝗶𝗺 from using the gym space to conduct his own PT sessions – with effect from 2 August – and the client has now stopped training with him. She will not be making a police report, but she has given me the permission to share about this as she also wants all women, girls, or even guys out there to know that this behaviour is not acceptable and that nobody should put up with any actions that make them feel uneasy, uncomfortable, and disrespected. Anyone that feels this way should speak up and not let the perpetrator has his/her way. #ShareThisPost I am very glad that @apeirolife doesn't tolerate such behaviour, and I'm happy to be conducting my PT sessions in a safe, fun, and professional space with other likeminded professional trainers. _

A post shared by Cheryl Loh | Personal Trainer (@cherylfit_sg) on

In the video, the man can be seen touching the buttocks of his female client several times during their workout.

The instructor is reportedly a freelance trainer and not employed by the gym, according to Loh.

Loh said she reached out to the female trainee to tell her that the man’s actions were “not normal”, and that she could speak up if it made her uncomfortable.

According to a conversation that Loh shared screenshots of, the female trainee plainly told him to stop touching her rear because she felt uncomfortable.

Image: Instagram (cherylfit_sg)

His response? That he needs to do it to “check her muscle”.

Image: Tenor

So, even though she repeatedly told him over 7 training sessions not to touch her inappropriately, he continued to do so, using the same excuse.

Gym’s Response

The gym has since released a statement on an Instagram story, saying it had “taken action against the trainer”.

Image: Instagram (apeirolife)

According to Loh, the gym has banned him from using the gym to conduct his own training sessions.

The client has also stopped working with the trainer, but will not lodge a police report.

Behaviour is “Not Acceptable”

In her post, Loh slammed the trainer for taking advantage of a trainee under his care, adding that many coaches have abused their authority in similar ways.


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“I personally consider this more despicable and disturbing than molesting a stranger – this is using the student’s trust to commit such an act, which can really mindf**k a person for a long time”, she wrote.

Loh also urged victims of sexual assault to speak up so their abusers’ actions won’t go unpunished.

“…nobody should put up with any actions that make them feel uneasy, uncomfortable and disrespected. Anyone that feels this way should speak up and not let the perpetrator have his/her way.”

At the end of her post, Loh praised the gym for taking swift action in banning the trainer and creating a safe environment.

“I am very glad that @apeirolife doesn’t tolerate such behaviour, and I’m happy to be conducting my PT sessions in a safe, fun, and professional space with other likeminded professional trainers.”


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Loh’s post has garnered over 16,000 likes.