Man who took upskirt videos as 'a challenge' sentenced to jail
The prosecution said that Poon Heng Wah saw taking upskirt videos as a challenge and felt a sense of satisfaction if he successfully took such videos while avoiding detection.
SINGAPORE — A 61-year-old man who filmed up the skirts of women "as a challenge" was caught about a month into the acts.
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 in early July of 2017.
Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Vincent Ong said: "He would take such videos three to four days a week, with four to five victims on each day.
"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", DPP Ong said.
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 at a mall in Hougang at about 4.40pm that day, when he noticed a woman who was not paying attention to what happened behind her.
After numerous attempts, Poon took a video up her skirt that lasted more than two minutes, with the woman's attire and face captured in the clip.
Minutes after that, he spotted another woman bending over a freezer at the supermarket.
He took an upskirt video of her that lasted around a minute, 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 tried to take a second clip, a man who was walking by saw Poon standing near the victim and holding a phone under her skirt.
He confronted Poon, who denied his actions at first, 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 that 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".
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 up to a year, fined, or both. CNA
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