Lady Confronted Uncle Who Took Picture of Girl in an MRT Train; Netizens Defended Uncle Instead

If someone takes a picture of me in public, I’d probably ask him or her if my face looks fat; if it is, I’ll politely request for a retake.

But that’ll never happen: no one would take a picture of a pig.

However, if it ever happens, I’ll be flattered and humblebrag online for days.

Apparently, this happened to a lady in an MRT station, but unlike me, the police were called instead.

Here’s what happened.

Lady Angrily Confront Uncle

A Stomper has taken the NEL on Sunday and it turned out to be an eventful trip.

When his wife was sitting beside a lady, whom we should address as Girly, Girly suddenly said this to her phone: “I saw this uncle taking photos of me! I saw his phone’s reflection on the window glass behind him. What should I do?”

And then, a woman in black came in for justice. Let’s call her Captain Justice.

Captain Justice confronted the uncle, and the uncle denied his actions. But Captain Justice wasn’t going to give up without a fight: she took a video or image of the uncle’s phone, and then threatened to call the police.

And she did.

Here’s when it gets a tad confusing.

Is Girly and Captain Justice the Same Lady?

I’ve read the STOMP article for the six millionth times, but I still cannot get it: according to the headline, it says “Woman confronts man for allegedly taking photos of her on NEL train, police investigating”. If the “woman” is Captain Justice, then isn’t Girly the one whose images were taken?

Or could Girly have transformed into Captain Justice?

We won’t know, but the police are investigating a case of intentional harassment.

But this isn’t the meat of the article.

The meat is in netizens’ comments.

Netizens Defended Uncle

Before anything, let’s get this out of the way: is it illegal to take an image of someone in public?

For a start, if you take an image that “insult the modesty of a woman”, like taking an upskirt image, then you can be charged.

But for normal image of a girl walking?

Technically speaking, it isn’t illegal.

According to lawonline.sg, “The general answer is that in Singapore there is no law that specifically says that consent from an individual is necessary before before capturing a photograph containing the person’s likeness in public places. If that is not the case, it will be almost impossible to take photographs in public or at public events and street photography cannot exist.”

However, if you publish the image anywhere, then that’s a problem: the person can take legal action against you if certain conditions are met.

Which is why netizens are coming out to defend the uncle.

This is also why the police are investigating based on a charge of intentional harassment, and this netizen has something to add:

But nevertheless, we still condemn the uncle’s actions: if he wants to see images of girls, he could have just gone to Instagram, no?