SINGAPORE — A Singapore diplomat suspected of filming a male teenager at a public bath in Tokyo is expected to be charged in Japan on Thursday (June 13).

The 55-year-old man, identified as Sim Siong Chye by Japanese broadcaster NHK, has returned to Japan for questioning by the police, local media reported on Thursday.

The former counsellor at the Singapore Embassy in Tokyo arrived in Japan on June 9 following a request made by the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department through Japan’s Foreign Ministry, reported the Asahi Shimbun newspaper.

Tokyo police then questioned him. On Thursday, they left the decision on whether to indict to the prosecutor. The indictment is expected to be filed later in the day.

A counsellor is a diplomatic rank for officers serving overseas, such as in an embassy. According to the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, a diplomat cannot be arrested.

The case was first reported in February that the diplomat used his smartphone to secretly film a 13-year-old first-year middle school student in the changing room of a public bath. The boy was naked.

Staff members at the public bath in Tokyo's Minato Ward reportedly called the police who, upon arriving, searched the diplomat's phone and found "multiple naked photos of male customers", according to Asahi at that time.

It added that the diplomat refused to go to the police station but told officers he had taken such photos in other public baths.

When asked to delete the photos from his phone, the diplomat "deleted them on the spot", reported the Japanese news outlet. He allegedly deleted 700 photos from his phone, which he told police he had taken in the six months leading up to the incident.

Yomiuri Shimbun reported on Thursday that the man had admitted to taking the photos, saying "I was unable to control my desires when I saw a man naked".

"I took 20 to 30 (photos) myself," Asahi quoted him as saying, adding: "I was surprised by the Japanese public bath culture and became interested in baths".

According to the Singapore Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA), the diplomat had completed his tour of duty in Tokyo as scheduled and returned to Singapore in mid-April.

He was suspended from his duties to assist in investigations. He did not inform the ministry about the incident until he was asked about it, said MFA.

The ministry said on May 2 that it was prepared to waive diplomatic immunity to assist in investigations if necessary.

According to NHK, citing Tokyo police, the man said he had regretted his actions and returned to Japan voluntarily to express his regret and speak as an ordinary citizen without diplomatic immunity.

He also said that he had filmed the video with the aim of viewing it later and that he had no intention of targeting children.

The NHK report quoted Tokyo police as saying that it was unusual for diplomats who have returned to their host countries to respond to police requests for questioning over alleged misconduct. CNA