Singapore
Heng’s offences came to light when the management of True Fitness found out that compromising videos of members in changing rooms had been advertised for sale online.
(Updated: )
SINGAPORE: A 29-year-old woman was sentenced to 30 weeks’ jail on Tuesday (May 2) for insulting the modesty of three women by filming them in the nude or in lingerie and selling the videos on Sammyboy, an online forum on which users can upload and exchange explicit material.
Marketing executive Heng Li Ying offered to sell the videos for 10 or 20 cents per second of footage, sweetening the offer by throwing in “free obscene videos” with each purchase, Deputy Public Prosecutor Winston Man said. Heng made S$1,540 in about five months by selling the videos to at least 22 people.
She pleaded guilty on Tuesday to three counts, with another three taken into consideration during sentencing.
EXPLICIT VIDEOS TAKEN AT TRUE FITNESS
DPP Man said while it is unclear where Heng got most of the explicit videos from, she had taken at least three herself. Heng, a member at True Fitness, had filmed three victims in the changing room at the chain’s Suntec City outlet in April 2014.
In filming one victim, Heng went so far as to “change positions” several times to “maximise” the quality of the video and capture the victim, a middle-aged woman, in the nude from different angles. The video was nearly two minutes long and showed the victim’s face.
Heng’s offences came to light when the management of True Fitness found out that compromising videos of members in changing rooms had been advertised for sale online.
The management made a police report and Heng was traced shortly after.
Heng’s lawyer Rajan Supramaniam said his client had committed the offence while facing money troubles, after being unable to secure a permanent job for seven years.
Mr Rajan said Heng, who is single and lives with her parents, has shown “genuine remorse, shame and regret” for her actions. He urged the court to be lenient with her.
The National University of Singapore graduate had a “bright future” ahead of her and “will cherish the opportunity to turn over a new leaf”, Mr Rajan said.
For insulting the modesty of a woman, Heng could have been jailed up to one year per charge and fined.
