Man jailed 15 weeks for using spy camera hidden in spectacles to film female co-tenant showering

SINGAPORE — Finding it odd that someone would leave their spectacles in the common toilet of her apartment, a 35-year-old woman inspected them after taking her shower.

That was when she realised that it was a spying device because the spectacles had a blinking red light, suggesting that it contained a tiny camera that was recording.

Upon learning of the device, the landlord rounded up all the tenants and asked if anyone owned the glasses. Despite being the perpetrator, Zhang Haibo, 29, denied it.

Since no one admitted to owning the spectacles, the victim and another female tenant made a police report on Aug 29, 2021.

Zhang was arrested later the same day. Court documents did not state how the police identified him as the culprit.

On Friday (Oct 14), the China national pleaded guilty to installing the spy camera to record others while they were nude and another charge of possessing a voyeuristic recording. A similar charge was taken into consideration.

For his actions, Zhang was jailed for 15 weeks.

WHAT HAPPENED

Sometime before Aug 27, 2021, Zhang bought a S$40 spy camera disguised as a pair of black glasses online, planning to use it to record female tenants showering in the common toilet.

The spectacles had a pinhole camera with a video recording function, and footage would be stored in a memory storage card in it.

He then placed it on the metal rack near the toilet’s sink, which faced the shower area.

The next day at around 1pm, the victim, a China national, noticed the spectacles while showering.

The victim, who cannot be named due to a court order, and another female tenant made the police report because they feared that other videos might have been recorded in the toilet.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Koh Yi Wen said that as part of investigations, the police seized various electronic devices belonging to Zhang on Sept 2, 2021. 

They found a video recording in his email inbox of an unknown female’s exposed buttocks in a public location, which Zhang had taken using his iPhone on April 22, 2021.

Zhang’s lawyer Jeyabalen Balasingam said that Zhang's actions had “come out of his loneliness” but it does not excuse his conduct.

Pleading for leniency, the lawyer added: “There is also a good chance his S Pass will be revoked and he would have to be deported. His future is gone because of this ridiculous thing he has done."

The S Pass, issued by the Ministry of Manpower, allows mid-level skilled workers to take up jobs in Singapore.

For installing equipment to record someone’s naked body, Zhang could have been jailed for up to two years, fined, caned or any combination of the three.

He also could have been jailed for up to two years or fined, or both, for possessing a voyeuristic recording.