Former ITE lecturer who took upskirt photos gets 32 weeks' jail

A former lecturer at the Institute of Technical Education (ITE) who took more than 300 upskirt video clips using a modified mini camera was yesterday jailed for 32 weeks.

Chia Teck Huat, 41, had pleaded guilty on Oct 29 to three charges of insulting a woman's modesty.

One other similar charge was taken into consideration during sentencing by District Judge Adam Nakhoda.

The court had earlier heard that Chia modified mini cameras that he bought online so that they could be concealed in his laptop bag.

He would attach one of the cameras to a portable charger and position it to peek out from the bag.

Between July and October 2017, he would walk around shopping malls, such as Plaza Singapura, looking for middle-aged office women wearing short skirts.

Following these women, he would position the camera under their dresses or skirts and record video clips.

Chia would later review the clips and copy those that successfully captured the victim's underwear to his personal electronic devices.

A man who suspected Chia was taking upskirt images made a police report on Oct 23 that year, and Chia was arrested the same day.

Court documents state that 362 video clips were recovered from Chia's tablet and thumb drive, which were seized in a raid at his home. Of these, 314 were taken between July and October 2017, while 21 others were undated. The rest could not be played.

Yesterday, District Judge Nakhoda noted that the former lecturer had sourced for the mini cameras online with the purpose of committing the offences, and also experimented with the camera set-up in his laptop bag for "optimal positioning".

However, the judge recognised that Chia had been diagnosed with voyeuristic and adjustment disorders, and had gone for 34 counselling sessions to address his offending behaviour since his arrest. He has also not reoffended.