The court heard that he also took at least 25 upskirt videos of women at a church and at a shopping mall between June and December 2018. — Image by fabrikasimf on Freepik
SINGAPORE: He knew his friend was feeling suicidal, but that did not stop him from filming her while she was changing clothes in her room.
The victim, then 14, wanted to use the toilet to change but the accused insisted she do so in her room where he had set up his mobile phone and iPad to record her.
He had gone to her house to help her write a birthday card for a mutual friend.
The court heard that he also took at least 25 upskirt videos of women at a church and at a shopping mall between June and December 2018.
On Nov 16, the accused was convicted of four voyeurism-related offences. Three similar charges will be taken into account for his sentencing.
The accused, now 20, cannot be named due to a gag order protecting the identity of his victims. As he was between the ages of 15 and 17 when he committed the offences, his identity is also protected by the Children and Young Persons Act.
His offences were first uncovered on Nov 21, 2020, when the 14-year-old victim spotted his devices on her couch and was horrified to see herself in her undergarments in the videos.
Just hours before the incident, she had shared with the accused that she felt depressed and was suicidal.
She told her mother and a few friends what had happened and confronted the voyeur, who repeatedly denied filming her. The victim’s mother told him to delete the two videos he took, which he did.
The victim continued to see the accused in church and at religious meetings, but they did not speak about the incident until Nov 15, 2021. The accused apologised to the victim that day but denied having the intention to record her changing.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Norman Yew said the victim – who was traumatised by the incident and the accused’s denial – tried to commit suicide on Nov 20, 2021.
She also engaged in self-harm by cutting her arms and legs.
Citing a medical report, DPP Yew said the victim’s mental state worsened after the offence.
“The increased stress from the incident led to her feeling more poorly of herself, diminished her self-esteem and increased her suicidal thoughts and impulses,” he added.
On Nov 21, 2021, the victim lodged a police report against the accused. During investigations, the police found videos of other victims in his phone.
Court documents stated that two of his victims, aged 15 and 17 at the time, attended the same church as the accused.
He filmed upskirt videos of them in June and September 2018 at an auditorium while attending church service.
In another case, he took upskirt videos of his former primary school classmate, then 15, while they were shopping at Bugis+ in December that year.
DPP Yew called for the accused to be assessed for his suitability for probation or reformative training.
Reformative training is a more severe punishment than probation and results in a criminal record. It involves being detained in a reformative training centre for six to 12 months to attend rehabilitative programmes and counselling.
A probation order may include attending the programmes recommended by a probation officer and abiding by a curfew.
In mitigation, the accused’s lawyer Chong Xin Yi from Gloria James-Civetta & Co urged the court to assess the accused for probation before reformative training, but her request was rejected by District Judge Kamala Ponnampalam.
Chong said her client is currently in national service and has sought treatment to address the root cause of his impulses. – The Straits Times (Singapore)/Asia News Network
