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Jail for NTU fresh grad who filmed men showering, kept hundreds of obscene videos on laptop

SINGAPORE — A 24-year-old Nanyang Technological University (NTU) fresh graduate was jailed for 24 days and fined S$2,000 on Tuesday (Sept 17) after he filmed a number of men showering in cubicles at Toa Payoh Safra Clubhouse without their knowledge.

SINGAPORE — A 24-year-old Nanyang Technological University (NTU) fresh graduate was jailed for 24 days and fined S$2,000 on Tuesday (Sept 17) after he filmed a number of men showering in cubicles at Toa Payoh Safra Clubhouse without their knowledge.

Koh Kah Hock, a Singaporean, also kept hundreds of obscene videos of naked men on his laptop, which were discovered by police after he was caught, the court heard.

Koh had started recording the obscene videos at the clubhouse in January last year, but he was caught only five months later in June while filming a 31-year-old man. The victim cannot be named due to a gag order.

Koh, who was an undergraduate at the time of the offences, pleaded guilty to seven charges on Tuesday. Eleven similar charges were taken into consideration for sentencing.

The court heard that Koh had snuck his hand under the men’s cubicles to film his victims naked in the shower. He had also filmed men clad only in their swimming trunks in the communal changing area.

The day Koh was caught, he was about to take a shower at the clubhouse after swimming when he felt a sudden urge to record videos of the four to five males he saw in the toilet.

He had filmed two other men before filming the 31-year-old who caught him in the act. Koh had surreptitiously entered the cubicle next to him and extended one hand holding his mobile phone under the partition.

But the man saw Koh’s hand, and tried to grab the phone. They then tussled for the phone as the man demanded that Koh unlock his mobile phone, while the accused tried to persuade his victim not to expose him to the authorities.

The victim took Koh to the lifeguard on duty. His particulars were then handed to a security officer at the clubhouse who called the police, leading to his arrest the next day.

On June 17 last year, police officers conducted a search at his house in Hougang and found that his hard disk and laptop contained hundreds of obscene films depicting naked men.

The videos were kept for his personal gratification, said Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Kevin Ho.

Koh’s lawyer, Mr John Koh of Populus Law Corporation, sought a three-week jail sentence for his client, arguing that the accused — a first-time offender — has a “decent background” with the “potential to be a very useful member of society”.

He told the court that Koh had secured a “very good internship” and would now have to forego the opportunity of employment with the firm. Koh’s LinkedIn profile states that he was a project management intern with the Advanced Remanufacturing and Technology Centre — a public-private collaboration between A*Star, NTU and industry partners.

Mr John Koh also stressed that the men in the films were in “mere states of undress”, and were not engaging in any sexual activity unlike some former cases referenced by DPP Ho, who asked for a four-week sentence. Koh also did not distribute the films, he added.

For making an obscene film, Koh could have been sentenced to up to two years, or fined up to S$40,000.

 

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NTU filming voyeurism

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