Former National Dental Centre photographer jailed for shooting over 600 chest photos of patients

SINGAPORE: A former photographer at the National Dental Centre of Singapore (NDCS) was sentenced to jail for two years and three months on Tuesday (Dec 9) for shooting over 600 voyeuristic photos of 25 patients.

Elgin Ng, a 29-year-old Singaporean, was primarily tasked with photographing the teeth and jaws of patients scheduled for jaw surgery, but instead broke protocol and took photos of female patients' chests, from top-down and bottom-up angles.

He pleaded guilty last month to nine charges which include voyeurism, distributing voyeuristic images and unauthorised computer access.

Another 21 charges were considered in sentencing.

Ng was required to provide patients with a blue board to cover their chest, regardless of gender, for added modesty.

He was also required to have a female colleague present for female patients, or to keep the room's curtains open.

Between June 2021 and May 2024, Ng took unauthorised voyeuristic photos of girls and women he found attractive.

If the patient had not been scheduled for photography, he would lie that the dentist had requested for photos.

Sometimes, he also accessed NDCS' internal system to download photos of the victim's faces to match them to the shots he took.

Ng assembled a catalogue of the victims, aged between 13 and 38, identifying them by their names and profile photos.

On at least two occasions, Ng also sent some of the voyeuristic images to his friend on Telegram.

He was busted when an 18-year-old victim made a complaint in April 2024 about being repeatedly called down for photography sessions despite there being no such order from her doctor. A total of 31 such photos had been taken of her.

NDCS commenced a formal inquiry, but Ng resigned before giving his version of events. The centre later lodged a police report and tightened its photography process, with chaperones present with patients and more regular audits of access to dental records.

The prosecutor had sought at least two years and five months' jail for Ng, while the defence sought 14 months and three weeks instead.

Among other things, the defence lawyer said the victims' cleavage was clothed, and that bottom-up angles are less invasive than top-down shots, as members of the public can see that area.

He also compared the number of victims against the thousands of patients Ng saw.

District Judge Ng Cheng Thiam on Tuesday said he was unable to agree with the mitigation plea submitted on Ng's behalf.

He agreed instead with the prosecution's sentencing submissions, noting that the case involves an accused person committing offences within a public setting.

For voyeurism, an offender can be jailed up to two years, or fined, or caned, or any combination of the penalties.

For distributing voyeuristic images, an offender can be jailed up to five years, or fined, or caned, or any combination of the penalties.

For accessing data without authority, an offender can be fined up to S$5,000 (US$3,900) or jailed up to two years, or both.