Former teacher pleads guilty to taking upskirt videos of teenage girls, one in school uniform

SINGAPORE: A former teacher took upskirt videos of multiple teenage girls, including a 17-year-old in her school uniform.

Daniel Chen Junyi, 29, pleaded guilty on Wednesday (Aug 19) to two counts of insulting a woman's modesty, with another two similar charges taken into consideration for sentencing.

He is no longer a teacher as of January 2019, the Ministry of Education told CNA on Thursday.

Court documents did not mention the school he taught at, or the subject he taught.

The four charges he faces are for taking upskirt videos of women between November 2017 and September 2019.

On Jan 11, 2018, Chen was waiting for the lift to his girlfriend's home when he noticed a 17-year-old girl and her sister in school uniforms.

He pressed the button for the highest floor on the 21st level, even though his girlfriend stayed on the fourth floor, said Deputy Public Prosecutor Kathy Chu.

He stood behind the two sisters and felt attracted to the victim.

He switched on the video-recording mode on his phone, bent down and placed his phone beneath the victim's skirt twice to film.

The victim's sister noticed Chen's movements from the corner of her eye, and turned to look at him. Chen withdrew his phone.

The sisters got off the lift at the ninth floor, and Chen watched the video at the 21st floor before heading to his girlfriend's place.

The victim's sister called the police that night and said a person with "very thick eyebrows" had taken upskirt photos of her and her sister.

Chen was identified through police camera footage and arrested about a week later, but had deleted the video clip by the time his device was seized.

On Sep 25 last year, Chen was out shopping with his girlfriend. While his girlfriend browsed through clothing racks, Chen walked around the shop and noticed that the female employees were wearing short dresses or skirts.

He approached a 17-year-old girl, taking the opportunity to film an upskirt video of her. The teenager realised that Chen was standing very close behind her and felt uncomfortable and scared.

Chen took more clips of this teenager and another victim, before looking for his girlfriend and leaving the store.

The 17-year-old victim lodged a police report that day, saying that a man had taken upskirt videos of her and that it had been captured on closed-circuit television.

Chen was arrested on Sep 30 last year and his laptop and phone were seized. Two upskirt videos, including one of the shop employee, were retrieved from his phone.

Chen will return to court for sentencing on Sep 2.

MOE said in a statement to CNA that it takes a serious view of staff misconduct and will not hesitate to take disciplinary action against those who fail to adhere to its standards of conduct and discipline. 

For each count of insulting a woman's modesty, Chen can be jailed for up to a year, fined, or both.