Jail, fine for voyeur who filmed men in public toilets, inadvertently uploaded videos in shared folder

SINGAPORE — While using the urinal in public toilets, Nicholas Kwang Zhen Xing seized the chance to take videos of several men doing the same by hiding his mobile phone under his armpit.

Kwang also began filming his male neighbour when the other man was in various states of undress in his flat.

His offences, committed mostly at Bishan Swimming Complex and Sentosa, only came to light when he uploaded the clips to a Google Drive shared folder by accident instead of his personal folder.

On Wednesday (Feb 9), the 24-year-old Singaporean was sentenced to 30 weeks’ jail and a fine of S$900. He pleaded guilty to 10 charges of public nuisance, voyeurism and making an obscene film, with another 28 similar charges taken into consideration for sentencing.

Kwang cried in the dock when District Judge Lim Wen Juin rejected his lawyer’s request to call for a suitability report for a mandatory treatment order — a community sentencing option offered to offenders suffering from mental conditions that contributed to the offence.

The court heard that he began recording the lewd videos with his mobile phone in January 2018. He targeted men using the urinals or showers in public toilets at locations that included Sentosa, Bishan Swimming Complex, Ang Mo Kio Hub and Plaza Singapura mall.

He would use the urinal beside his victim’s and tuck his phone under his armpit, aiming the camera lens towards the victim.

While filming men using the shower, he would hide in the neighbouring cubicle and position his phone through gaps or over the top of the cubicle walls.

Around the same time, he began taking videos of his neighbour when he was changing his clothes.

The court heard that the victims’ genitals were clearly visible in some of the video clips, and they were all unaware that Kwang was filming them. One of the clips was almost five minutes long.

On Oct 23, 2020, someone lodged a police report stating that obscene videos had been found in a shared folder on Google Drive. No other details were given in court documents.

Kwang had taken the videos to watch them and masturbate at home, and inadvertently uploaded them to the shared folder. He took at least 37 videos from January 2018 to October 2020.

SOUGHT TREATMENT FOR MENTAL DISORDERS

Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Yee Jia Rong, who asked for 34 weeks’ jail and a S$900 fine, referenced the case of Sean Lee Yang in noting that there was no link between Kwang’s psychiatric condition and his offences.

Lee was similarly jailed six months last year for using a spy camera to film other men in the toilet of a gym outlet.

Kwang was diagnosed with major depressive disorder, social anxiety disorder and voyeuristic disorder. DPP Yee argued that his Institute of Mental Health (IMH) psychiatric report “makes clear that his voyeuristic tendencies did not involve any loss of impulse control, and therefore were not something that contributed to the commission of his offences”.

In mitigation, Kwang’s lawyer, Mr Sukdave Singh Banta Singh from Winchester Law, argued that Kwang voluntarily sought treatment at IMH before the offences came to light. This was for depression and anxiety.

He added that Kwang had a long history of anxiety disorder starting from primary school days.

“He has shown a complete ability to reform. He has full parental support… and his academic results show he has the potential to do well… He's got his whole future ahead of him,” Mr Singh told the court.

In rejecting Mr Singh’s argument for a mandatory treatment order suitability report, District Judge Lim said it was clear from the IMH report that Kwang’s depressive and social anxiety disorders “did not contribute in a significant way” to the offences.

While there was some causal link between his voyeuristic disorder and the offences, the judge noted that an offender has to show a high degree of rehabilitative prospect in order to consider the sentencing principle of rehabilitation instead of deterrence.

The evidence “strongly suggested” that he did not manage to curb his desires after seeking treatment at IMH. Rather, he intended to perpetuate his offending behaviour by saving the video clips to watch later, the judge told the court.

Kwang will begin serving his sentence on Feb 23.