Man given probation for insulting modesty can't have devices with photo/video capabilities

Tan Jun Yu, 20, is accused for taking up-skirt videos at a fitting room at Royal Sporting House in Junction 8 using his mobile phone. ST PHOTO: WONG KWAI CHOW

SINGAPORE - A former store sales assistant who filmed more than a dozen customers in the store's changing room was placed on probation of 2½ years on Monday (March 21).

Tan Jun Yu had admitted to five charges of insulting the modesty of a woman, with 18 other charges taken into consideration during his sentencing.

While most of the offences took place at Royal Sporting House at Bishan Junction 8 where he worked between April and May 2014, the 21-year-old had also captured videos of a young woman in the bathroom at a chalet during a gathering in March 2013.

After showering, he had set his mobile phone in video recording mode and placed it behind a pot at the sink, with the intention to video record any female who used it.

He managed to capture the woman, then 20, being topless while she was inside the bathroom on the evening of March 13, and in the early hours the next day.

The judge accepted the probation officer's recommendation to place Tan under probation.

Under the probation order, Tan has to remain indoors from 10pm to 6am, perform 180 hours of community service, attend offence-specific treatment programme as required by the psychologist, and not have devices with photo/video capabilities.

His parents put up a bond to ensure his good behaviour.

The court heard that on May 30, 2014, Tan was working at the store when he placed his mobile phone on the floor outside the fitting room. He set it to video recording mode with the camera lens facing the gap between the floor and the bottom of the fitting room door.

A 37-year-old woman was trying out some clothes at about 7pm when Tan's mobile phone captured two video recordings of her lasting two minutes long.

She called the police.

He had similarly taken video recordings of an unknown shopper two days earlier.

On May 7 that year, he was in an unknown MRT station when he recorded an upskirt video of a woman on an escalator.

His lawyer Chia Boon Teck had said in mitigation that Tan was constantly bullied in school as he was seen as "weak and non-assertive".

Tan claimed to have first witnessed a group of men taking upskirt videos of women. He was aroused by their actions and soon found the activity "exciting'' when he did it himself, said Mr Chia. Later, he became extremely troubled when he developed the habit and could not cease his compulsion.

Mr Chia said Tan regretted not seeking help earlier and has been consulting a counsellor at the Central Manpower Base for the past year to deal with his voyeuristic disorder that he had been diagnosed with.

The maximum penalty for insulting modesty is a year's jail and a fine.

elena@sph.com.sg

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