There’s a common saying that “justice will be late but never absent”.
In the case of this ex-teacher, who had been taking voyeuristic videos of his male colleagues, students, and other unsuspecting victims, he met the figurative end of the baton when his last and final victim happened to an observant police officer.
Here’s how it happened.
The Sins of an Ex-Teacher
The 49-year-old Singaporean cannot be named because of a court order to protect his victims’ identities, some of whom were minors.
Between February 2017 and April 2018, the accused had filmed his male colleagues and students at the school he used to work at, as well as the men’s common toilet in his condominium complex.
He recorded at least 128 voyeuristic videos, which is roughly once every four days, without the victims’ consent.
The other 11 videos which featured men masturbating or with their private parts exposed, were apparently captured with the subjects’ consent.
The accused’s modus operandi would be that he would stand at the urinals next to the victims to film them, capturing their faces and exposed genitals.
Most damning of all, there were three clips of an oblivious young boy, whose age is unknown, showering in the condo’s clubhouse toilet.
There were at least three videos that featured the teachers from his school, and two that were obviously students.
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The Lead-Up to His Arrest
Much to the fortune of other potential victims, and the misfortune of the perpetrator, a police investigation officer had been visiting the condominium complex, which was the main site of his crimes.
The police officer had been swimming before he went to the clubhouse toilet to shower and dry himself off at a nearby bench.
The offender went into the toilet and pretended to look around for his condo access card, which was reportedly a common tactic he employed.
He stood on the bench in front of the victim with his mobile phone camera pointing down.
The sheer audacity that the accused displayed is oddly reminiscent of any true crime case about serial killers, where they tend to get bolder and more reckless with each crime committed.
He told the victim that he was trying to see to see if he left his access card on the shower ledge.
After taking a minute-long clip of his naked victim, he exited the toilet swiftly.
Finding his behaviour suspicious, his victim put on his clothes and left the toilet, but he couldn’t find the offender anywhere.
Afterwards, he went to his relative’s condo unit to retrieve his police warrant and lanyard, before he started searching for compound for the man.
He eventually spotted the suspect, identified himself as a police officer, and told him about his suspicions.
The offender replied that he hadn’t taken a video of the victim naked, but he handed his iPhone over in the end.
While they walked towards the condo guardhouse, the ex-teacher repeatedly asked the police officer to give him another chance.
You know how the story goes; the offender wasn’t spared from having his sins laid bare.
At the guardhouse, the offender unlocked his mobile phone at the victim’s request, and a video of the victim popped up. The security officer at the condo promptly made a police report.
The man was arrested on 15 April 2018.
Court Proceedings
In the span of the five-year-long trial, a psychiatric analysis conducted on the accused revealed that he had persistent depressive disorder with anxious distress.
The ex-teacher’s defence counsel also submitted a psychiatric report stating that he suffered from severe depression with underlying voyeuristic disorder.
Although District Judge Melissa Tan acknowledged his mental condition, she stated that depressive disorder and anxious distress were not significant or convincing enough to displace the sentencing principle of deterrence.
As for his underlying voyeuristic disorder, Judge Tan pointed out that the consulted psychiatrist didn’t state that the disorder had a strong causal link to his offences.
The accused was aware of the nature and wrongfulness of his actions, which sufficiently proves that he had the “criminal intent” or “guilty mind” (mens rea in law lingo), when taking those voyeuristic videos.
And though the ex-teacher suffered from mental illnesses, it was noted that he was able to concentrate and function well in school.
One of the aggravating factors that were taken into consideration for his sentencing was the premeditation and abuse of trust.
Moreover, there was a “high number of non-consenting victims,” Judge Tan declared to the court.
The accused also pleaded guilty last month to two charges of committing public nuisance and making obscene films.
Thus, on 23 March 2022, the ex-teacher was sentenced to 10 weeks in jail and a $2,000 fine.
Six other charges had been taken into consideration during his final sentencing.
He will begin serving his jail term on 19 April. His cousin has agreed to continue posting bail for him till then.
Those convicted of making an obscene film may face a maximum imprisonment sentence of up to two years, fined up to S$40,000, or both.
Those who are found guilty of being a public nuisance can be fined up to S$1,000.
However, his offences predate the criminalisation of voyeurism in Singapore, which was officialised in the Penal Code in 2019, under Section 377BB. Those who are charged with this offence can face a jail term of up to two years, fined, caned, or meted out with any combination of the three.
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Featured Image: Shutterstock / WeStudio
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