SINGAPORE - A student who filmed 19 upskirt videos of women, mostly on escalators, was on Friday sentenced to 12 weeks in jail.

Singapore Management University (SMU) student, Tien Kiat Chong, 26, pleaded guilty earlier to a single charge of insulting women's modesty, while another charge of possessing obscene films was taken into consideration during sentencing.

The court heard on Friday that he intends to appeal against the sentence and was offered bail of $8,000.

In a statement to ST, an SMU spokesman said Tien has since been given a two-year suspension and sent for community service and mandatory counselling.

The spokesman said: "His re-admission to SMU after the suspension period is not automatic and will be subject to strict evaluation by the University.

“The disciplinary sanctions meted out by the university form part of the student's formal educational record at SMU." 

The court heard in March when Tien was convicted that he would feel an urge to follow women in dresses and skirts and take upskirt videos of them using his mobile phone.

At about 7.15pm on Sept 4, 2019, he was travelling upwards on an escalator in Sengkang MRT station when he saw a woman wearing a denim skirt in front of him.

He placed his left foot on the step above, just below where the victim was standing, and put his phone with its camera facing up on his left knee to try to take an upskirt video, said Deputy Public Prosecutor Ng Jun Chong.

A witness saw him and alerted the station staff. When confronted, Tien denied trying to take an upskirt video of the victim.

When the station staff asked to check his phone, Tien went through the phone before handing it over.

The station staff and the witness found an upskirt video in his phone, filmed from behind a woman on an escalator.

Tien repeatedly apologised and asked them if they could forget about what happened, adding that he was still studying.

He was handed over to the police despite his pleas.

In his statement to the police, Tien denied taking any upskirt videos. He claimed he had wanted to record a video of the woman's face but managed to capture only her "back view".

The police later found 19 upskirt videos in his phone, taken between May 28 and Sept 4, 2019.

The DPP said that 17 of the videos were recorded on escalators in public places, one was filmed in a train and another in a retail shop.

DPP Ng said Tien was intruding on the privacy of the women, with the intent to insult their modesty.

"The accused would review the videos at home, or when he was alone," he said, adding that 37 other obscene videos were found in Tien's phone.

An offender found guilty of insulting the modesty of a woman can be jailed for up to a year and fined. Those who possess obscene films can be jailed for a maximum of 12 months and fined.