SINGAPORE, Oct 27 — A 40-year-old woman was charged today with taking photographs of an elderly man while bathing him in a Punggol Central flat.

Hidayah, an Indonesian who goes by one name, faces two counts of taking voyeuristic images and three other charges of distributing intimate images with intent to humiliate the 79-year-old man.

In a news release last evening, the police said that Hidayah is the man’s caregiver. He cannot be named due to a court order to protect his identity.

She is accused of taking the photos on April 18 and 22 this year. Court documents showed that she allegedly did this while the man was sitting nude on a toilet bowl.

Between April 18 and 30, she purportedly sent intimate images of the man without his consent via WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger to her contacts in Indonesia.

Court documents did not indicate who these contacts were.

She was offered bail of S$15,000 and indicated her intention to plead guilty. She will return to court on Nov 15.

Those convicted of voyeurism can be jailed up to two years, fined, caned, or given any combination of the three. Women cannot be caned.

Those convicted of distributing intimate images or recordings can be jailed up to five years, fined, caned, or given any combination of the three.

If the victim is a vulnerable person, the court may sentence offenders to twice the maximum punishment they would normally get.

In a similar case, an Indonesian domestic worker was jailed 17 months in January for repeatedly filming an elderly man she was caring for while she helped him take a shower. She then posted the footage on TikTok and WhatsApp.

Other voyeurism cases

Aside from Hidayah, seven men aged between 23 and 52 were charged with voyeurism offences today.

This includes Muhammad Daniel Ariffin Ahmad, 28, who faces two charges of voyeurism and another charge of possessing child abuse material.

He allegedly took an upskirt video of a 21-year-old woman on an escalator at Kovan MRT Station.

The police said in their news release that such cases remain a key concern for them, and urged members of the public to remain vigilant by being aware of their surroundings.

They added: "The police have zero tolerance towards sexual offenders who threaten the personal safety of the community, and offenders will be dealt with sternly in accordance with the law.

"Reporting such crimes early is crucial in helping the police identify and arrest the perpetrators.” — TODAY