Serena Kozakura (38) is a Japanese bikini pin-up model, and actress, that was sentenced to 14 months in prison for willful destruction of property after a November 6 incident, in which she allegedly kicked a hole in a door, and re-entered her boyfriend’s apartment following an argument with another woman she had discovered there. The 38-year-old model had appealed the sentence to the Tokyo High Court. Kozakura had said the man made the hole himself.

Her big breasts have not only boosted her career, but they also helped her overturn a court verdict. Kozakura, was cleared after a court decided she was too well-endowed to squeeze into a room through the hole, as she had been found guilty of earlier.

"I used to hate my body so much," Kozakura, who has appeared in product commercials on television, told the private Asahi network in an interview aired Tuesday. "But it was my breasts" that won in court, she said.

The case was splashed through the Japanese media on Tuesday, with the Asahi network even inviting her to demonstrate how she could not fit through the opening. In her appeal, the defence counsel held up a plate showing the size of the hole and said that she could not squeeze through with her 110-centimetre (44-inch) bust.

"The judges were very good-mannered as they showed no expressions on their faces. I guess they’re well-trained," Kozakura said. Tokyo High Court presiding judge Kunio Harada agreed and threw out the guilty verdict on Monday, saying there was reasonable doubt over the man’s account.

Size matters, especially when small holes are involved.