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Man gets three months’ jail for taking upskirt video, destroying evidence

SINGAPORE — When he was caught red-handed for taking an upskirt video of a fellow bus commuter with his mobile phone, Koo Kiat Boon smashed his phone repeatedly against the floor and even swallowed its memory card in a desperate bid to erase evidence of his crime.

SINGAPORE — When he was caught red-handed for taking an upskirt video of a fellow bus commuter with his mobile phone, Koo Kiat Boon smashed his phone repeatedly against the floor and even swallowed its memory card in a desperate bid to erase evidence of his crime.

For destroying the electronic record and insulting the modesty of a woman, the 25-year-old Malaysian was sentenced to three months’ jail yesterday.

A district court heard that the former electrician was on board SBS Transit’s Service 170, heading towards Woodlands Checkpoint, at about 7pm on Sept 3 when he spotted a 28-year-old commuter whom he found pretty.

Taking advantage of being on a crowded bus, Koo bent down, stretched his hand under the victim’s skirt and made a recording using his mobile phone.

When another commuter caught him in the act, Koo smashed his phone repeatedly against the floor, hoping to destroy evidence. The action bent the phone in half, exposing its back.

Koo also removed its memory card and swallowed it as he was afraid of the repercussions, the court heard.

Koo was arrested by police officers at the Woodlands Checkpoint. The memory card remains missing.

In mitigation, defence counsel Richard Lim said his client had destroyed the mobile phone and swallowed the memory card “partly due to the fact that they contained intimate pictures of him and his wife, and he did not want a third party to see (them)”.

Mr Lim added that Koo’s former employer knew him to be hard-working and obedient, and that he had a clean record prior to this offence.

He has been suspended from work and will have to return to Malaysia after serving his sentence, the lawyer said.

District judge Hamidah Ibrahim said Koo’s act of destroying evidence to avoid prosecution was far more serious than the offence of insulting the modesty of the woman.

Accompanied by his mother, wife and two-year-old son in court yesterday, Koo sat red-eyed in the dock as his sentence was read out.

For destroying the electronic record with the intention of preventing it from being used as evidence, Koo could have been jailed up to two years and fined.

For insulting the modesty of the woman, he could have been jailed up to one year and fined. KELLY NG

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