12 weeks’ jail for peeping tom who filmed victims, wished them Merry Christmas

SINGAPORE — First, he filmed women undressing and relieving themselves in a toilet cubicle at the NTUC Income building at Tampines Junction.

Bryan Fang Zhongquan then left the toilet for half an hour, before reentering to take more videos. He was only caught when an eagle-eyed victim spotted his mobile phone under the partition separating the two cubicles.

On Tuesday (March 26), Fang was jailed for 12 weeks after he pleaded guilty to four counts of intruding into a woman’s privacy and one count of criminal trespass. Eleven similar charges were taken into consideration for sentencing.

The incident went viral on Facebook after one of his victims wrote a post about it, describing how Fang apologised profusely and even wished her and her friends a Merry Christmas after his act was discovered.

CAUGHT RED-HANDED

The court heard that Fang met a friend for dinner on Dec 25 last year. After eating at a bar at the NTUC Income building, he sent his friend off on a bus before returning to the building.

Closed-circuit television footage showed him entering and exiting the female toilet on the first floor at about 11.50pm. He then went into the male toilet, before returning to the female toilet three minutes later.

He entered an empty cubicle there, locked the door and waited for women to enter the adjoining cubicle. There were only three cubicles in the toilet and one was under repair.

When he heard someone coming in, he slid his iPhone underneath the partition separating the two cubicles and recorded a 44-second video of the woman relieving herself.

Fang remained in the cubicle for about 15 minutes and recorded videos of six women.

He then left the toilet for half an hour before returning and filmed four more videos.

He also took a similar video of three women and captured one of their faces.

When Fang’s last victim was in the cubicle, she noticed his phone and exclaimed in shock. After she left the cubicle, she told the other two women about what she had seen.

When Fang emerged shortly after, she asked for his phone and told one of the women to call the police. But Fang fled and was later detained near the lift lobby by the victims’ male friend, who had heard their shouts.

‘SUFFERED ONLINE ABUSE’

Deputy Public Prosecutor Theong Li Han asked for 12 weeks’ jail for Fang, saying he committed the offences in two tranches before he was discovered.

In mitigation, Fang’s lawyer Teo Choo Kee said his client had lost his girlfriend and job as a financial advisor after the incident. The lawyer, who sought nine weeks’ jail instead, told the court that Fang was intoxicated at the time of the act and was remorseful for his actions.

Fang also “suffered online abuse” after he was initially charged, Mr Teo added.

In sentencing Fang, District Judge Adam Nakhoda said that the potential for embarrassment in this case was greater compared to other upskirt cases, as his victims’ faces could be seen.

Fang’s attempt to flee was an aggravating factor and he was in the toilet for “an extended time”, the judge added.

For criminal trespass, he could have been jailed for up to three months or fined up to S$1,500. For intruding into the privacy of a woman, he could have been jailed for up to one year and/or fined for each charge.