NUS student who trespassed into hostel rooms to steal women's lingerie gets jail

SINGAPORE: A National University of Singapore (NUS) student was jailed six weeks on Monday (Jan 4) for stealing women's lingerie from hostel rooms on campus.

Pei Shao Bo, 25, pleaded guilty to three counts of theft, with another six charges including criminal trespass taken into consideration.

The court heard that Pei was a student at NUS at the time of the offences early this year. He had a fetish for female underwear and would go to a hostel block to steal the clothing items.

He did not stay in the block - which was not named to prevent identification of the victims - but targeted it as the block was the closest to school.

He kept the stolen undergarments in a drawstring bag at home and would feel them while masturbating. He soiled some of the items and threw the dirtied ones away.

The four victims in the case - all NUS students in their early 20s, did not have the habit of locking their hostel rooms when they left.

Pei stole various bras or panties from them in January and February last year by entering their unlocked rooms and leaving with the lingerie.

Some of the victims were not aware that someone had entered their rooms, and only realised later when they heard there was a thief in their block.

Pei was caught red-handed on Feb 8 last year by one of the victims who saw him in her unlocked room. When she asked him what he was doing there, he did not respond and instead ran away, only to be identified from security footage.

The victim made a police report and investigations led to the discovery of the other offences.

Police recovered some of the stolen underwear from Pei but none of the victims want their items back, said Deputy Public Prosecutor Kayal Pillay.

She asked for a six-week jail term, saying that the significance of the case goes beyond the relatively low value of the items.

She said Pei deliberately trespassed into female students' rooms and took their items for his personal sexual gratification.

All the victims were young college students living away from their parents and Pei had intruded their rooms, which were places where they were supposed to feel safe.

"The accused was able to enter all four rooms over five occasions because they were unlocked," said Ms Pillay. "This was not a public space that everyone had access to."

She added that the rooms were unlocked because the victims did not have the habit of locking their rooms - which "speaks to a culture of trust and security that these victims shared".

After the incidents, the women began locking their doors.

Pei has made no attempt at restitution and his status as a student at the university could have given him the opportunity to commit the string of offences, said Ms Pillay.

"The fact that he has managed well academically or in other areas of his life should not detract from the seriousness of the offences."

The defence tried asking for probation, saying that Pei was facing stress at the time of the offences, which occurred in just under a month.

Ms Pillay cited the framework laid down by the high court for the case of NUS student Terence Siow, which states that rehabilitation is not typically the main concern for adult offenders.

HE IS REALLY ONLY SORRY FOR HIMSELF: PROSECUTION

On the defence's point of remorse, Ms Pillay said Pei is "really only sorry about the consequences to himself".

"The accused highlights through his counsel that he's remorseful that his hard work ... at NUS has now been overshadowed by this case," she said. "The accused highlights that in hindsight he deeply regrets his actions because it has destroyed his hard work towards his studies."

She added that there do not seem to be any steps taken towards reform apart from the university-mandated counselling. While Pei perhaps has a fetish for female underwear, there is no indication that he could not resist this impulse.

Pointing to the defence arguments about the stress of being in the final year at NUS as well as the fact that his girlfriend had broken up with him, Ms Pillay said these factors are "part and parcel of life".

"It does not give him leeway to commit this offence or any offence," she said. "While the accused may have been facing stressful life events, these are events that any typical final year student may experience. It cannot be an excuse for him to commit these offences and lay the blame at the feet of his life stresses."

For each count of theft, Pei could have been jailed for up to seven years and fined.

PEI SUSPENDED, BARRED FROM CAMPUS PREMISES

NUS said in a statement on Monday evening that a board of discipline convened a hearing in May to look into the offences Pei was said to have committed between January and February.

The board completed its inquiry in June and imposed “a range of disciplinary sanctions” on Pei, including a three-year suspension that will be reflected in his academic transcript.

He was also directed to undergo mandatory counselling, rehabilitation and reconciliation sessions. 

These disciplinary sanctions will be placed on his student conduct record, said an NUS spokesperson. 

Pei is currently serving his suspension and is barred from campus premises except when seeking treatment at the University Health Centre (UHC). 

“Although he has completed the academic requirements for his course, he will need to be certified fit by UHC before he can file for graduation,” said the university.

“Support and assistance by the University’s Victim Care Unit was offered to the students affected by this matter.

"NUS will spare no effort to institute strong safeguards against incidents of sexual misconduct. As a community, we will work together to build a culture of respect and a safer campus for all," it added.