Voyeur jailed 6 weeks for filming teenager showering in ground-floor HDB flat

SINGAPORE — A 31-year-old man was jailed for six weeks on Wednesday (Oct 7) for using his mobile phone to film a teenager showering in her ground-floor flat.

Teo Jing Zhi pleaded guilty in a district court to intentionally insulting the victim’s modesty late on the evening of Nov 8, 2018.

The victim, who cannot be named to protect her identity, was 18 years old at the time.

Teo was cycling around a Housing and Development Board estate when he heard the sounds of someone bathing, and traced it to the victim’s ground-floor flat.

The victim was in the midst of showering when she saw a hand, holding a mobile phone, slip through her toilet’s window louvres.

Frightened, she screamed and shouted for help, which caused Teo to flee the scene.

The victim’s brother responded to her call for help and left the flat immediately, but was unable to find anyone.

He then called the police, who were eventually able to establish Teo’s identity and apprehend him. Deputy Public Prosecutor Joseph Gwee said Teo had deleted the recording from his phone.

Investigations by the police using closed circuit television (CCTV) footage revealed that Teo had been loitering near the back of the victim’s unit, where the kitchen toilet window is located.

The footage showed that he had been at the location for about three minutes before he cycled off.

DPP Gwee, who sought a jail term of at least eight weeks, said there were several aggravating factors in the case.

Aside from making a video recording, which Teo subsequently deleted, DPP Gwee pointed out the high degree of intrusion into the victim’s privacy.

“The victim was fully nude as she was showering and the offence had taken place in the sanctity of her own home, where she should have expected to have been safe,” he said.

For intentionally insulting the modesty of a woman, Teo could have been jailed for up to one year, or fined, or both.