SINGAPORE – A 28-year-old man took a video of a young girl’s underwear at the baby-product section of a supermarket in April last year, a court heard. The eight-year-old had been sitting in a shopping cart with her legs parted.
A shopper who sensed something amiss shouted for help and a security guard detained Wong Jia Wei. Police later found many other upskirt videos, taken of unknown young girls, in his mobile phone.
On Friday (Oct 7), Wong, a Malaysian, was jailed for 20 weeks. He pleaded guilty to 10 out of 18 charges of insulting the modesty of a woman.
The remaining counts, along with one charge each of having an obscene film and a film without a valid certificate, were taken into consideration in sentencing.
The court heard that since 2012, Wong had been recording upskirt videos whenever he got the chance.
Said Deputy Public Prosecutor Sharmila Sripathy-Shanaz: “Wong revealed that he had taken numerous upskirt videos of young Chinese girls between six and 10 years of age when he chanced upon them sitting in a manner that inadvertently exposed their panties… he has been taking upskirt videos since 2012.”
He would cover the screen of his Sony Xperia phone with a phone cover, while filming, so that others would not suspect his actions.
On June 30, 2013, Wong saw a girl seated with her legs apart on a parapet near a grass verge at Bugis Village with her family. He took a video which showed her face, inner thighs and panties.
He also recorded an upskirt video of a girl, who was seated on a chair with her legs apart, outside the Starbucks outlet in Bugis Junction on Sept 15, 2013.
The next year, on April 12, 2014, he filmed a girl sitting on the floor reading at Serangoon Public Library with her legs apart.
A month later, on May 10, 2014, he saw a girl, who was with her mother, sitting with her legs apart on board a public bus. He took a video, which showed her face, inner thighs and panties.
He also filmed girls sitting inside shopping trolleys in NTUC FairPrice outlets. He took an upskirt video at Bedok Mall on Dec 15, 2013; at Ang Mo Kio Hub on Jan 26 last year; and at Nex on March 27 last year.
Wong has been diagnosed with voyeuristic disorder, with a pedophilic tendency.
The maximum penalty for insulting the modesty of a woman is one year’s jail and a fine.
This article was first published on Oct 7, 2016.
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Video screengrabs, AFP, The New Paper, The Straits Times
