SINGAPORE - For over a year, two boys from a secondary school in Ang Mo Kio took over 60 upskirt videos and clips of girls in the shower, and some of the victims included their schoolmates and teachers.

Between end-2016 and Jan 3 this year, the duo took the videos in school and at other places such as AMK Hub shopping mall, Ang Mo Kio Public Library and Popular bookstore in Junction 8 mall.

The duo, both 16 now, pleaded guilty on Friday (Sept 7) and were convicted on six and eight counts, respectively, of insulting the modesty of a woman.

They will return to court on Sept 14 for sentencing.

Due to their age and the nature of the offence, the identities of the boys and their school cannot be revealed.

Their activities were exposed after a schoolmate informed a teacher on the morning of Jan 3 this year that she suspected one of them had taken an upskirt video of her, Deputy Public Prosecutor Kelly Ho told the court.

When the teacher tried to get the boy to unlock his mobile phone so she could check its contents, he refused to do so, and the matter was brought to the discipline master.

Eventually, the boy relented and with the videos revealed, confessed that he took them.

Police later found 27 upskirt and attempted upskirt videos on his phone, along with five videos of girls in the shower.

The court heard that he also took videos in class when the female students were seated, and in the hall where he placed his phone on the floor in record mode to capture the students who walked past.

He added that he was influenced by the other boy, who was in the same co-curricular activity as him.

The court heard that the other boy had showed him some of the upskirt videos he had taken towards the end of 2016, and shared with him tips on how to take them.

Police later found 34 upskirt and attempted upskirt videos on his phone, along with four videos of girls in the shower.

In one incident, the duo were attending a five-day overnight camp in school late last year, when they tried, but failed, to plant a small camera in the female shower cubicles to film their schoolmates.

On the third night of the camp on Nov 30, 2017, they saw that the area around the female toilet was empty. They went in and filmed their schoolmates in the shower, by holding their phones over the top of the cubicles.

District Judge Eddy Tham told the boys that even though they are young, they will not simply receive a light tap on the wrist.

He said the offences were serious and shocking, given that they were done on multiple occasions to people they were familiar with.

In mitigation, one of the boys said he had been seeking counselling from the Institute of Mental Health since January this year.

Anyone found guilty of insulting the modesty of a woman can be jailed for up to a year, and fined.