SINGAPORE, July 12 — A man took voyeuristic videos of at least 27 victims, including ex-colleagues, college friends and an ex-intern. Some victims, who were close friends, faced deep trauma over the man’s betrayal and are suffering mental health issues.

The 33-year-old Malaysian, who was a software engineer at a bank at the time of his arrest in April 2023, was sentenced to 20 months and four weeks’ jail for his offences yesterday.

He pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing to four charges of voyeurism and one charge of the possession of obscene films.

Six other charges of insulting the modesty of a woman and two voyeurism charges were taken into consideration for sentencing.

Police investigations into his electronic devices found that the man had recorded no fewer than 40 voyeuristic videos of victims showering and 53 upskirt videos.

This involved at least 27 victims, 26 of whom were female, from February 2019 until April 2023. Three victims were identified as close friends of the man.

Another 21 of the victims were identified by the man to have been ex-colleagues, college friends and an ex-intern, but the man could not recognise the other three victims.

TODAY is not naming the man as doing so could lead to the identification of the victims, whose names cannot be published under a court order.

Betrayal of close friends

The first victim hosted the man and two other male friends at her house to play board games on April 8, 2023.

At about 5.30pm, she excused herself to take a shower. When the man noticed that others in the house were occupied, he snuck into the woman’s bedroom to record her in a state of undress.

The man placed his handphone on a box below the window and activated the recording function before leaving.

After the woman finished her shower, she noticed the phone with the camera facing her direction while drying her hair.

She called a female friend who came over to her house and the two women looked through the man’s phone and discovered voyeuristic material.

The victim’s friend then called the police and the man was arrested that night.

The court heard that the first victim had regarded the man as "one of (her) closest friends” and had known him for nine years after they met in a university programme.

Police investigations revealed that there were at least 23 voyeuristic videos of her on the man’s electronic devices, and that he had been recording his friend in the toilet and shower from as early as February 2019.

Most of the videos were recorded in various places in Singapore, including their friend’s house and her boyfriend’s house, with four video files being recorded when she travelled overseas with her boyfriend and the offender.

The first victim said in a statement that nine years of her life "suddenly made no sense” as she had been betrayed by someone she had trusted.

She felt "fear and panic” whenever she showered or entered a bathroom and would often fall ill due to stress.

The woman also had to seek treatment and counselling for post-traumatic stress disorder, incurring more than S$15,000 (RM52,180) in medical fees up to July this year.

A second victim, who also regarded the man as a "close and trusted friend” and who is the subject of some of the charges taken into consideration, also stated that she too felt like she was in a constant state of "hyper-vigilance”.

As a result of the man’s offences, she struggled with mental health issues for months and incurred over S$17,000 in counselling bills and costs incurred from having to delay her further studies.

Third victim and others

The man got to know the third victim in 2014 and was close to her and her then boyfriend. The man would record upskirt videos of her whenever he visited her and her then boyfriend’s apartment.

The victim’s face was clearly visible in the three upskirt videos taken between May 2021 and October 2022.

She also informed investigators that she had become distrustful of those around her since the discovery of the man’s actions, and is seeking professional help with a psychotherapist.

The man provided compensation for the expenses incurred by the first two victims, while the third victim declined to receive compensation from him.

As early as 2019, the man would take care of the third victim’s rented apartment when she was overseas.

During this period, he would invite friends to hang out at her apartment and recorded at least six of his friends in 14 videos between December 2021 and March 2023.

Police investigations further uncovered at least six other upskirt videos of various women that the man recorded from March 2020 to October 2022.

He recorded these videos during social gatherings, by walking near to the victims with his handphone camera switched on and angled towards their skirts.

The man also took upskirt videos at multiple locations, including his house, his office, a cafe and at his former church.

On one occasion, he took upskirt videos of an intern at his office by placing his handphone underneath the table while in a meeting.

In addition to voyeuristic videos, the man’s electronic devices also contained 500 video files containing pornographic material, which he downloaded from online sources.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Tay Jia En sought a sentence of between 24 and 30 months’ jail, noting that this man’s voyeurism charges involved at least 27 victims, many of whom he called friends.

His offending also went on for over four years till his arrest in April 2023, reflecting a sustained and repeated pattern of offending.

In sentencing, Senior District Judge Ong Hian Sun agreed with the prosecution that the man’s offences were premeditated and involved a betrayal of his close friends, causing them "agony and anguish”.

For each charge of voyeurism, the man could have been jailed for up to two years, caned or fined, or received any combination of such punishments.

Those who knowingly possess any obscene film can be jailed for up to 12 months, fined up to S$40,000 or both. — TODAY