The 49-year-old man, who is married with three children, pleaded guilty on Friday (Sep 2) to three charges of insulting a woman’s modesty. Another five charges will be taken into consideration for sentencing.
A gag order was imposed by the court barring the publication of his name, the victims’ names and the school name.
According to CNA, the man had worked at the school since 2008 and was the discipline master since 2015. He also taught Mandarin.
Between April 2015 and July 2018, he filmed 156 upskirt videos of at least 38 female colleagues, mostly teachers.
CAUGHT BY TEACHER :
The secondary school’s disciplinary master recorded more than 100 upskirt recordings of his female coworkers and students over the course of more than three years.
The 49-year-old took 12 upskirt videos of at least seven female students using modus operandi such as inviting them into the discipline room, according to CNA report.
He would invite them to his workstation so they could enter data there, and while the victim was entering data at his desk, he would place his handphone under the victim’s skirt while the victims was doing their work. He rarely brought male teachers to his work station for data entry and only invited female coworkers wearing skirts or dresses, not those wearing pants.
USED VIDEOS FOR OWN SEXUAL PLEASURE :
Between May 2015 and February 2018, the man also captured 12 upskirt videos of at least seven female students. He would take the student into the discipline room and film her while she was using the computer.
The court heard that the man would transfer the videos to an external hard disk via his office laptop. He did not share or publish the clips but “used them for his own sexual pleasure”, the prosecutor said.
CAUGHT STUDENT WHILE TAKING UPSKIRT :
On one occasion, a male student was caught and punished by the school for filming two upskirt videos of a female teacher.
On the pretext of retrieving evidence, the accused confiscated the student’s phone and used his own phone to film the videos before transferring them to his collection.
His behaviour persisted up until July 2018, when a female teacher at the school filed a police report, alleging that she believed the accused was filming other teachers, including herself, in upskirts.
When the accused’s hard drive was confiscated by the police, they discovered 173 upskirt videos on it. Each tape was given a title that included the names, initials, or descriptions of the victims.Investigations also turned up a video of a female relative in an upskirt that he had recorded at a party that his mother-in-law was throwing.
His behaviour persisted up until July 2018, when a female teacher at the school filed a police report, alleging that she believed the accused was filming other teachers, including herself, in upskirts.
When the accused’s hard drive was confiscated by the police, they discovered 173 upskirt videos on it. Each tape was given a title that included the names, initials, or descriptions of the victims.
Investigations also turned up a video of a female relative in an upskirt that he had recorded at a party that his mother-in-law was throwing.
DOUBLE DEPPRESSION :
The accuser mistreated the trust of his female coworkers and his authority as the discipline officer, according to the prosecutor, who requested a sentence of 12 to 18 months in jail. Students were particularly vulnerable, and the accused took advantage of their submission to his authority as well as the faith their parents had in the school and its staffstaff” said the prosecutor.
However, she accepted that the accused was suffering from major depressive disorder at the time, after losing his mother in 2015. His wife also underwent surgery for medical ailments in 2016, after which their frequency of sexual intimacy “drastically diminished”, according to CNA.
However, while these factors invite some sympathy, they do not excuse the accused’s conduct,” said the prosecutor.
Defence lawyer asked the court to order a mandatory treatment order suitability report. He said his client was suffering from “double depression” at the time of the offences.
A doctor with the Institute of Mental Health had said his disorder contributed to his offences, said Mr Goh the defense lawyer.
The prosecutor objected to the defence’s “conclusion” that the accused would not be able to undergo psychiatric treatment if he is sentenced to jail, calling this “leaping to conclusions”.
The prison is “fully able to continue monitoring and treating his conditions”, and the psychiatric unit of the Changi Medical Complex is administered by IMH, she said.
The judge noted the accused’s mental conditions at the time and that there is a contributory link to his offending behaviour.
She granted the defence’s request to call for a mandatory treatment order suitability report, but stressed that even if he is found suitable, the court may not necessarily impose such an order.
He will return to court for sentencing in November.
Image for illustration only
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