NSF who took 31 upskirt videos of schoolgirls at MRT station, other locations gets 18 months' probation

SINGAPORE — After being released from his duties over the weekend, a full-time national serviceman (NSF) would hang around Stevens MRT Station to film up the skirts of female students from a nearby girls' school.

Teng Chee Wee, a 21-year-old Singaporean, was sentenced to 18 months’ probation after being convicted of one charge of voyeurism for taking upskirt videos of female victims on 31 occasions between July and August 2022. 

He was also ordered by the court to:

• Perform 60 hours of community service
• Attend a treatment programme aimed at his sexual offending
• Be prohibited from using mobile devices with a camera function, unless assessed to be suitable by his probation officer
• Have all his electronic devices with internet access subjected to regular checks
• Be banned from having unsupervised access to anyone below the age of 16

WHAT HAPPENED

After buying a new phone, Teng kept his old one to take upskirt videos of girls. 

In July 2022 when he was serving National Service, he decided to go to Stevens MRT Station to take upskirt videos because many secondary school girls from Singapore Chinese Girls’ School would take public transportation there. 

On the weekends after being released from National Service duties, he would go to Stevens MRT Station and wait for female students. 

When he spotted a student in a skirt, he would record an upskirt image of the student by following behind her on an escalator travelling upwards or by walking past the student while holding his phone at a certain angle.

He recorded 31 upskirt videos of girls in their school uniform at various locations in Singapore between July 29 and Aug 26 in 2022. Several of these videos also featured the girls’ faces. 

Teng’s offences came to light during police investigations after he was caught taking photos of young girls in a mall.

On Sept 3 in 2022, a member of the public made a police report that Teng was taking photos of girls at Gymkraft, a gymnasium providing gymnastics classes to adults and children in Kallang Wave Mall. 

Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Louis Ngia said that Teng had gone to the mall to take pictures of girls practising gymnastics at Gymkraft and this was not the first time that he had done so.

The girls who attended classes at Gymkraft during this period were between four and 13 years old, the court heard.

When the police arrived, they discovered an upskirt video of an unknown female in Teng’s phone and then discovered other similar videos. 

Since Teng committed the offences before he turned 21, DPP Ngia said that the prosecution would not object to him being sentenced to probation. 

The prosecution also noted that although Teng’s offences were serious, he had expressed "remorse and disgust" for his offences.

His probation suitability report stated that he appeared to have good family support for his rehabilitation and had a low risk of re-offending, DPP Ngia added.

For the charge of voyeurism, Teng could have been jailed for up to two years, fined, caned, or have received any combination of these punishments.