Man who took upskirt videos as 'a challenge' sentenced to jail

SINGAPORE: A 61-year-old man who took upskirt videos of women "as a challenge" was caught about a month into his filming activities.

Poon Heng Wah was sentenced to 16 weeks' jail on Monday (Nov 25), after pleading guilty to four charges of insulting a woman's modesty, with another two charges taken into consideration.

The court heard that he started taking such videos sometime in early July 2017.

"He would take such videos three to four days a week, with four to five victims on each day," said Deputy Public Prosecutor Vincent Ong.

"He saw taking upskirt videos as a challenge, and felt a sense of satisfaction if he successfully took such videos while avoiding detection."

He chose his victims based on the ease of avoiding detection, as well as "whether the said victim was able to arouse him", said the prosecutor.

After viewing the clips, Poon would usually delete them.

His video taking spree came to an end on Aug 9, 2017, but not before he recorded four such clips of three victims.

He loitered around a supermarket in a mall in Hougang at about 4.40pm that day, when he noticed a woman looking at a vegetable display.

She was not paying attention to what happened behind her, the court heard, and Poon decided to take an upskirt video of her.

He managed to take a 2min 13sec video after numerous attempts, with the woman's attire and face captured in the clip.

Minutes after, he spotted another woman bending over a freezer at the supermarket.

He took a 1min 2sec-long video of her, after repositioning himself around her several times in his bid to record the clip.

At about 5.20pm that day, Poon spotted a 60-year-old woman at the supermarket exit and followed her for about two minutes intending to film her.

He took a video clip while she was queuing to buy food.

As he attempted to take a second clip, a man who was passing by saw Poon standing near the victim, holding a phone under her skirt.

He confronted Poon, who initially denied his actions but eventually admitted to them.

He begged for the victim's forgiveness, and the passer-by notified the police.

The prosecution had asked for the 16 weeks' jail sentence that was meted out, saying that the offences were committed on unsuspecting victims "for the accused's perverse enjoyment".

While Poon had been diagnosed with persistent depressive disorder, the prosecution said he was able to appreciate the nature and consequences of his actions.

Furthermore, he had committed similar offences in 2016, which indicates his recalcitrance and "the need for a stiffer imprisonment term to deter him from future offending", said the prosecution.

The judge granted a deferment of his sentence to Dec 13.

For each charge of insulting a woman's modesty, Poon could have been jailed for up to a year, fined, or both.