Lai Zi Yang, a 26-year-old man who was caught taking upskirt photos of an MRT commuter, was later found to possess more than 100 such images. He was sentenced to 28 days’ jail after pleading guilty to one charge of taking voyeuristic images without consent, with another similar charge taken into consideration during sentencing, according to ST report.
Key Highlights :
- Lai Zi Yang, 26, was sentenced to 28 days in jail for taking upskirt photos of women on MRT.
- He had over 100 voyeuristic images, with at least 14 taken during the incident.
- Lai was caught after a fellow commuter confronted him, leading to police investigation.
- He used a passcode-locked folder to secretly store the images, which were later recovered. The court emphasized the pattern of offending and the need for a strong warning to prevent similar crimes.
WHAT HAPPENED
The incident occurred on November 1, 2024, according to Deputy Public Prosecutor Teng Yin Hang. Lai, who had recently registered his marriage in May, was traveling from Jalan Besar to meet a friend for dinner when the incident took place. After exiting the train at Tampines MRT station, Lai was on an escalator and noticed a woman dressed in a skirt in front of him.
Lai reportedly had a habit of taking upskirt photos whenever he saw women dressed in short skirts in close proximity. While on the escalator, he placed his phone on his knees with the camera lens facing upwards, aiming it at the bottom of the victim’s skirt, and snapped a total of 14 upskirt photos. An alert commuter noticed Lai’s behavior and confronted him, eventually alerting the victim, who reported the incident to the police.
Further investigations revealed that Lai had taken upskirt photos of at least 10 other women. Authorities found more than 100 such images in his possession. Lai admitted that he used his phone to take the photos and then transferred them into a passcode-locked folder on his device. He stated that once transferred, the images would be automatically deleted from his phone’s photo gallery.
Lai also disclosed that he viewed these images alone at home or in the toilet, the report added.
In mitigation, Lai’s lawyer Low Chun Yee explained that his client, who was newly married, was awaiting the keys to his Build-To-Order (BTO) flat. Mr Low emphasized that Lai is a relatively young offender and that he is aware of the wrongfulness of his actions, having undergone voluntary treatment. He added, “He knows what he has done is wrong and has gone for voluntary treatment. He will continue to do so.”
District Judge John Ng commented on Lai’s behavior, noting the pattern of misconduct and the significant number of images involved. The judge highlighted that such offences are often difficult to detect and emphasized the importance of sending a strong warning to deter similar crimes.
Under Singapore law, those found guilty of voyeurism can face penalties of up to two years’ imprisonment, a fine, caning, or a combination of these punishments.
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