Real estate entrepreneur Wang Zhenhua, who was found guilty of sexually molesting a 9-year-old girl and was sentenced to five years in prison, lost an appeal as the verdict was upheld, according to Shanghai No. 2 Intermediate People's Court on Wednesday.

The incident involving Wang, a native of Changzhou, East China's Jiangsu province, and the girl took place at a five-star hotel in Shanghai in 2019.

According to a report by Xinmin Evening News, a friend of the girl's mother took the child to the city on the pretext of visiting Disneyland, but eventually took the girl to the hotel to meet Wang.

The chief judge of the case told People's Court Daily that Wang molested a minor under 12 years old and left her with a level 2 minor injury, both of which constituted the maximum punishment for molestation.

Wang was sentenced to five years in prison by the Shanghai Putuo District Court in June last year, but Wang claimed to be innocent and appealed the sentence.