Construction worker jailed 1 week for peeping at woman in toilet cubicle; claimed he was throwing rubbish

SINGAPORE — A 38-year-old man was jailed for a week on Thursday (Sept 29) after he peeped at a woman in a toilet, then claimed that he was “throwing rubbish”.

Pandiyan Selvakumar was working here as a construction worker at the time of his offence on Nov 30 last year. The victim cannot be named due to a court order to protect her identity.

Pandiyan, who is from India, pleaded guilty to making a gesture intending to insult the modesty of the victim.

For sentencing purposes, Senior District Judge Bala Reddy took into consideration a separate charge of Pandiyan molesting another woman by grabbing her breasts at a Serangoon restaurant several months earlier.

The court heard that in relation to Pandiyan's peeping act, his 29-year-old victim had left her office to use the women’s toilet on the first floor. The exact location was not disclosed in court documents.

She then noticed Pandiyan standing next to the sink area.

She wanted at first to leave the toilet but he then claimed that he was trying to fix something in one of the cubicles. When she asked if he was leaving, he replied that he would.

The victim then went into a cubicle and stood inside without undressing, waiting for Pandiyan to leave before relieving herself.

However, a few seconds passed when she heard the sound of the door of an adjacent cubicle opening.

Sensing something was amiss, she looked at the divider between the two cubicles and saw shadows on the floor.

Suddenly, she saw half of Pandiyan’s face, with one of his eyes visible, peering up at her from the gap underneath the divider.

She screamed in fright and quickly left the cubicle, then saw Pandiyan standing outside with a small dustbin in his hand. He claimed that he was “throwing rubbish”.

She ran out of the toilet still screaming. Closed-circuit television footage showed her leaving while pointing at something in the toilet.

She sought help from a male passer-by who helped to detain Pandiyan while waiting for security personnel to arrive.

After Pandiyan was sentenced on Thursday, he asked if he would be allowed to continue working here. The judge told him that it was not within the court’s purview.

Pandiyan could have been fined or jailed for up to a year, or punished with both.