SINGAPORE - A 19-year-old was at a camp in a secondary school in the northern part of Singapore when he decided to play a "prank" on a female campmate by pointing his mobile phone camera at the girl while she was taking a shower.

The offender, who is now 20, pleaded guilty in court on Monday (Dec 23) to insulting the girl's modesty.

His name and details on the school cannot be revealed because of a gag order, imposed to protect the identity of the victim who was also 19 at the time of the offence.

The Straits Times understands that the youth was not a student of the school at the time.

He was at an overnight camp for a uniformed group at the school on Nov 19 last year when he decided to enter a female toilet to play a "prank" on the teenage girl while she was taking a shower at around 2.20am that day.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Chong Yonghui told District Judge Seah Chi-Ling: "After entering the toilet, the accused stood outside the victim's cubicle and raised his handphone above the door with the camera facing into the cubicle.

"The victim immediately shouted out in alarm upon seeing the handphone and the accused fled from the toilet."

The girl told a camp safety officer about what had happened and the offender later confessed that he was the one who had held his mobile phone above the cubicle door.

No video of the girl was found on the device later.

Judge Seah has called for a report to assess the offender's suitability for probation.

He was offered bail of $10,000 and will be sentenced on Jan 21 next year.

Anyone convicted of insulting a woman's modesty can be jailed for up to a year and fined.