Mandatory treatment order for ex-SGH trainee doctor who filmed men at urinals

SINGAPORE — A 31-year-old doctor who pleaded guilty to filming men at urinals in the Bugis Junction and Ngee Ann City malls last year was sentenced to a one-year mandatory treatment order on Monday (April 6).

This sentencing option was offered to Jerry Christian Nagaputra, who used to work in the anatomical pathology department at the Singapore General Hospital (SGH), because he was assessed to be suffering from an adjustment disorder.

A mandatory treatment order is a community sentencing option offered to offenders suffering from mental conditions that contributed to an offence. 

An Institute of Mental Health report dated Dec 31 last year stated that the disorder had contributed to Nagaputra’s offences and that his risk of reoffending was low.

Nagaputra — an Indonesian who is a Singapore permanent resident — could have been jailed up to two years, fined up to S$40,000, or both, for each of the three charges he faced.

WHAT HAPPENED

The court heard last month that on Feb 9 last year, Nagaputra filmed men in a toilet at Ngee Ann City and did the same at Bugis Junction two days later. 

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

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

The victim felt that Nagaputra was acting strangely, so he waited outside to confront the man. 

When Nagaputra did not leave the toilet, the victim returned to look for him. Nagaputra fled, but the victim caught him at a nearby traffic junction. 

When confronted, Nagaputra claimed that he had only photographs of food on his phone and began showing them to the victim. 

But the victim soon noticed a photo of a urinal and asked to check the phone himself. He found videos of men urinating and called the police when Nagaputra tried to delete them and flee once more.

The doctor’s lawyer, Mr Lee Teck Leng, told the court last month when Nagaputra pleaded guilty that his client suffered from an adjustment disorder with depressed and anxious moods.

A psychiatrist who diagnosed Nagaputra said that he resorted to filming men urinating “as a dysfunctional method of coping” with his mental disorder and had been receiving treatment for it.

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

Nagaputra originally faced 23 charges, all under the Films Act. Of these, 20 were taken into consideration during sentencing.

TODAY previously reported that Nagaputra was employed under MOH Holdings, the holding company for Singapore’s public healthcare institutions, but he was no longer working there as of Oct 25 last year. He had been attached to SGH for training.