Doctor and 2 NSFs plead guilty to filming men in toilets, including at NTU and malls

SINGAPORE — A doctor and two full-time national servicemen (NSFs) pleaded guilty separately on Monday (March 9) to filming men using the toilet, including at a residential hall of the Nanyang Technological University (NTU) and malls.

Jerry Christian Nagaputra, who used to work in the department of anatomical pathology at the Singapore General Hospital, admitted to taking videos of men at the Bugis Junction and Ngee Ann City malls.

The 31-year-old will return to court next month when a report to assess if he is suitable for a mandatory treatment order is ready. 

This is a community sentencing option offered to offenders suffering from mental conditions that contributed to the offence.

The doctor’s lawyer, Mr Lee Teck Leng, said in his mitigation plea that his client suffers from adjustment disorder and voyeuristic behaviour, the former having contributed to his offences.

One of the NSFs, 20-year-old Lau Jun Wei, pleaded guilty to trespassing an NTU hostel and taking photographs of a male student showering. He was not a student there at the time.

A district judge called for a report to see if he is suitable for probation. Four other charges, including recording a sex act of himself and another man in a toilet, will be taken into consideration for sentencing.

The other NSF, 23-year-old Seow Jia Chun, admitted to filming his fellow serviceman using the men’s washroom. Both had been serving their National Service with the police.

CASE 1

The court heard that Nagaputra, an Indonesian who is a Singapore permanent resident, was filming men in a toilet at Ngee Ann City on Feb 9 and did the same at Bugis Junction two days later. 

At Bugis Junction, he filmed men using the urinal 22 times within the space of three hours, from about 5.30pm to 8.30pm.

A 27-year-old victim caught him in the act, having noticed him rushing to the urinal next to his while holding his mobile phone with the camera lens facing the victim’s private parts.

He felt that Nagaputra was acting strangely. After he was done, he waited outside to confront Nagaputra.

When Nagaputra did not leave, the victim went into the toilet to look for him. Nagaputra fled and the man gave chase, managing to catch him at a nearby traffic light junction.

Claiming that he had only photographs of food on his phone, Nagaputra began showing them to the victim, but the victim soon noticed a photo of a urinal and asked to check the phone himself.

Nagaputra handed over the device and the victim found videos of men urinating. He called the police when Nagaputra tried to delete them and flee once more.

One of the psychiatrists who diagnosed Nagaputra said that he resorted to filming men urinating “as a dysfunctional method of coping” with his mental disorder, and has been getting treatment for it.

“He has taken steps to reduce his conflict over his sexuality with his family and friends,” the psychiatrist added.

TODAY previously reported that Nagaputra was employed under MOH Holdings, but he was no longer working there as of Oct 25 last year. He was attached to the hospital for training.

CASE 2

As for Lau, the court heard that while he was hanging out with his friend at NTU’s Hall of Residence 3, he took photos of male students showering on two separate days.

He could enter the men’s toilet without a key fob because the door was kept ajar by a dustbin.

On Feb 24 last year, he was using the toilet when he heard someone showering in one of the cubicles. He took two photographs and a video of the victim before leaving.

About two months later, he took two photographs of another male student showering. 

When he left, one of the victim’s friends confronted him, having caught him holding his mobile phone over the top of the cubicle door. The victim then called the police.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Thiam Jia Min told the court: “The victim felt alarmed, distressed and traumatised by the accused’s actions and eventually moved out of the residential hall as a result.”

Court documents showed that Lau filmed himself performing a sex act on another man in a toilet at Jurong Point mall on April 3 last year. That same month, he filmed someone carrying out an obscene act inside an NTU toilet cubicle.

On July 14 last year, he filmed a man performing a sex act on another man, again in a toilet at Jurong Point.

CASE 3

The court heard that Seow struck at his then-workplace on Oct 29, 2018. Its location was not disclosed in court documents.

Seow was on duty there that morning when he went to the toilet. He decided to stay in the cubicle after hearing someone else go into the adjacent one.

While standing on the toilet bowl, he held his mobile phone over the cubicle wall to film the victim relieving himself. He deliberately captured the man’s face in the video.

Seow did not realise that the victim had noticed his shadow on the ground, and saw Seow withdrawing his mobile phone when he looked up.

The victim left the toilet in shock while Seow stayed in the cubicle to use the video for his own sexual needs. He deleted the video afterwards and left the toilet, whereupon the victim immediately confronted him.

The victim’s supervisor called the police and Seow was detained.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Chew Xin Ying told the court that Seow was 21 years old at the time and a first-time offender.

District Judge Adam Nakhoda called for a report to assess if he is suitable for probation.