Ex-HDB director admits taking obscene images of men in Safra locker rooms, at his home

SINGAPORE — A former Housing and Development Board (HDB) director pleaded guilty on Tuesday (Aug 30) to filming and taking photos of men in states of undress in his home and in the locker rooms of Safra clubhouses.

Leo Norman Chee Wei Kiong, 61, who worked at HDB when the offences were committed, admitted to two charges of public nuisance by taking photos and four charges of either making or possessing obscene films.

Eight similar charges will be taken into consideration during sentencing, including one count of possessing a voyeuristic or intimate image.

Chee's bail of S$15,000 was extended until his sentencing, scheduled for Sept 9.

The court heard that Chee took videos and photos of other men changing at Safra locker rooms as well as of a man who was undressed at his home. One of the charges specified the Safra Mount Faber clubhouse as the location, while two others stated that the offences occurred at unknown Safra clubhouses.

He was also found to have 146 obscene films on his phone, which was seized during investigations.

TODAY reported last year that Chee was a director of housing finance at HDB in 2017 and that some time later, he had voluntarily resigned from his job. 

At the time, HDB stated that Chee's charges were not related to the work with the statutory board and declined further comment.

Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Colin Ng said that in October 2020, Chee used his phone to secretly film a man he found attractive at an NTUC FairPrice supermarket outlet at Kallang Bahru.

The man noticed his actions and confronted Chee, who denied filming the man. 

A commotion ensued and a supermarket employee called the police. While waiting for the police to arrive, Chee and the man were led into a security office in the supermarket.

There, Chee admitted to filming the man and agreed to delete the footage. As the man was checking that the video was deleted, he noticed that Chee’s phone had obscene videos of other naked men.

When the police arrived, the man alerted the police to his discovery and the police officers seized Chee's phone for forensic examination.

During investigations, Chee admitted to having a habit of filming and taking pictures of men he found attractive in public places, gyms and changing rooms. 

“He also admitted to downloading sexually explicit videos and photographs from the internet for his own consumption,” DPP Ng said.  

Investigations found that back in April 2012, Chee took two photos of an unknown man who was only in his underwear in the locker room of a Safra clubhouse. 

In January 2013, he took five photos of a man who had his genitals exposed at a locker room of a Safra clubhouse.

In December 2018, Chee again recorded a video of a man who was fully naked in the locker room of Safra Mount Faber in Telok Blangah.

Chee also recorded a video of a man, whom he knew only as "Billy", in his apartment in December 2017 while Billy was drying himself with a towel. In September 2019, in his apartment, he recorded the same man putting on his underwear.

DPP Ng sought a jail term of between two and three weeks’ jail and a fine of between S$1,600 and S$2,000.

He noted that the video taken at Safra Mount Faber in 2018 was done without the man’s consent and that it was unclear if Billy had consented to the videos taken of him.

He added that the men’s faces were captured in the three videos, which could be harmful if the videos are circulated. 

And although there is no evidence to suggest that Chee had circulated the videos, the risk of accidental or intentional dissemination cannot be discounted, DPP Ng said.

For an offence of public nuisance, Chee could be fined up to S$1,000. 

For offences committed before the 2019 amendment to the Films Act, making an obscene film carries a penalty of up to two years' jail and a fine of between S$20,000 and S$40,000, or both.

For making an obscene film after the amendment, Chee could be jailed for up to two years and fined up to S$40,000, or both.

Possessing obscene films carries a jail term of up to 12 months or a fine of up to S$40,000, or both.