22-year-old NSF on probation for taking upskirt videos reoffends, now faces jail time

SINGAPORE — Three weeks into his probation for taking upskirt videos of women, a 22-year-old full-time National Serviceman reoffended and was caught with 19 new videos on his mobile phone.

On Wednesday (Nov 27), Lim Jia Jun admitted to six new charges of taking the videos, saying he was browsing voyeuristic forums and wanted to experience the thrill of taking such videos again.

Thirteen other charges will be taken into consideration during sentencing, which is expected on Jan 6 next year.

Lim was previously sentenced to a 21-month split probation over three similar charges on Nov 8 last year. Eight charges were taken into consideration then.

Part of the conditions of his probation was a prohibition on his use of mobile devices with a camera function, unless a psychologist assessed that he was suitable to use them. 

But Deputy Public Prosecutor Benedict Chan on Wednesday said that he breached the court order with his use of a Sony Xperia phone, without getting an assessment by a psychologist beforehand.

Lim now faces a sentence of up to one year in jail, a fine, or both for each of his convictions.

FILMED AT DAISO, NTUC FAIRPRICE, WATSONS

The court heard that Lim struck at unsuspecting women at Chinatown Point, as well as in areas in its vicinity, between 12pm and 2.15pm on Nov 29 last year. 

He filmed them using a mobile application which enabled him to record videos in the background, even when his phone screen was turned off or if he was using some other application.

He was caught after he had taken 19 upskirt videos, taken at a range of places including Chinatown MRT Station, and the mall’s Watsons and NTUC FairPrice outlets.

It was Lim’s suspicious behaviour at the mall’s Daiso outlet that caught the attention of Mr Koh Kheng Boon, who saw him holding a mobile phone while squatting behind a woman who was wearing a knee-length skirt and browsing items on a shelf at 2.15pm.

Mr Koh informed a staff member at Daiso, who then approached the victim and Lim.

But no incriminating videos could be found on the media folder of Lim’s mobile phone, so the victim left the Daiso outlet without taking any further action. 

Unbeknownst to her at that time, the clips were all stored in the video recording app itself, which even allows users to change its display icon so as to conceal its true function. 

Lim was busted only after he confronted Mr Koh about the incident to challenge the witness’ claims. Mr Koh responded by calling the police who conducted a forensic examination of Lim’s phone and found the 19 videos.

The videos ranged from under a minute in length to as long as 5 minutes and 30 seconds. They captured the victims’ inner thighs and panties.

Lim later confessed that he had targeted younger women who were wearing skirts or dresses.

Mr Koh received the Singapore Police Force's public spiritedness award earlier this year for his actions.