Man jailed for setting cellphone in video mode in female toilet

SINGAPORE - A forklift driver who placed his mobile phone in a female toilet cubicle to record a woman using it was jailed for two months on Thursday.

Shafie Mustafa, 39, had admitted to criminal trespass by entering a female toilet and intruding into the privacy of a 25-year-old woman at a company in Jurong on March 25 last year.

The court heard that Shafie entered the company's female toilet that evening and hid his Nokia cellphone in mop strands, with the camera pointing at the toilet bowl.

As soon as he exited, he saw the woman entering the toilet. He waited nearby.

The woman saw the mobile phone. She picked it up and saw that it was on video recording mode.

She handed the phone to her supervisor.

After the woman had left, Shafie entered the toilet again to retrieve his phone. He panicked when he found it missing and left.

The woman's supervisor called the police.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Siti Adrianni Marhain said that his actions were pre-meditated.

She also told District Judge Low Wee Ping that the fine imposed on him in 1996 for being a peeping Tom had not been a sufficient deterrent.

A third charge of theft of cigarettes was taken into consideration during his sentencing.

He could have been jailed for up to one year and/or fined for insulting modesty. For criminal trespass, he could have been jailed for up to three months and/or fined up to $1,500.

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