A 56-year-old Singapore permanent resident was sentenced to 16 weeks’ jail on Wednesday, 2 September, after secretly photographing his female tenant showering on three occasions.
Chinese national Qiu Chengzhi pleaded guilty in the State Courts to one amalgamated charge covering the three incidents.
According to court documents reported by 8world, the offences took place in early August 2024 at a four-room HDB flat owned by Qiu.
The victim was a 37-year-old Chinese national who rented a bedroom in the flat.
Tenant Spotted a Phone Outside the Bathroom Window
Qiu lived in the flat with his wife, son and daughter-in-law. He rented a bedroom to the 37-year-old woman and another Chinese national, aged 29.
The two tenants used a common bathroom located near the kitchen.
On the night of 7 August 2024, the 37-year-old returned from work and briefly spoke to Qiu about that month’s rent before going to shower.
About 10 minutes later, Qiu went into the kitchen and placed his phone on a windowsill outside the bathroom to photograph her while she was showering.
The woman noticed the phone and twice called out to ask who was taking photographs, but received no response.
She got dressed and confronted Qiu after leaving the bathroom. She thought his phone looked similar to the device she had seen at the window and asked to inspect his photo gallery.
Qiu hesitated and denied photographing her.
Police Found 9 Nude Photos Taken Over 3 Days
The woman then sought help from her 29-year-old housemate.
According to 8world, the two women confronted Qiu again and noticed him repeatedly touching his phone screen. Suspecting that he might be deleting evidence, they took the phone and checked it.
They found nude photographs of the 37-year-old showering.
Two nude photographs of the 29-year-old housemate were also found in the phone’s recently deleted folder. The younger woman subsequently called the police.
A forensic examination of Qiu’s phone later uncovered nine nude photographs of the 37-year-old victim. They had been taken on 1, 2 and 7 August 2024.
Police were unable to recover the two deleted photographs involving the 29-year-old woman.
He Said He Felt Lonely After His Wife Went to China
During investigations, Qiu admitted taking the photographs of the 37-year-old tenant.
He told investigators that his wife had gone to China at the time and was not expected to return in the short term. He said he had secretly photographed the tenant because he felt lonely.
Qiu was sentenced on 2 September 2026 to 16 weeks’ jail for the charge covering the three incidents.
