SINGAPORE: A teacher who had been filming male victims in locker or changing rooms was caught by a member of the public taking videos in the men's toilet at MacRitchie Reservoir.
The witness called the police, believing that the teacher was recording his students in the toilet. However, the victims did not include the students.
Checks by the police later revealed that Woo Weng Chuan, 51, had taken illicit videos of other men in changing rooms.
Woo, who is no longer a teacher, was sentenced to five months and five weeks' jail on Tuesday (Aug 26).
When a prison sentence is imposed that combines months with four weeks or more, CNA reports the sentences as spelt out by the court as months vary in length.
Woo pleaded guilty to three charges, including voyeurism and making obscene films under the Films Act. Another three charges were taken into consideration.
The ages of the victims were not given in court papers, and there was no gag order imposed in this case.
The court heard that Woo was a teacher at a secondary school.
On the morning of Jun 1, 2022, he was with some students at the MacRitchie Reservoir amphitheatre, as he was the teacher in charge for the track and field co-curricular activity.
The students were training that morning, and Woo was usually tasked with taking care of the students' bags and managing the beginning and end of training sessions.
While the students were training, Woo saw a few male individuals showering in the open shower area at the amphitheatre toilet.
He felt the urge to film them showering and turned on the recording function on his phone. He then walked around more than once, with his phone camera pointing outwards as he held it.
A 33-year-old man who had gone for a run at the reservoir emerged from a shower in the amphitheatre toilet and saw Woo.
He noticed Woo holding his phone with the camera pointing outwards and observed him walking around with the device pointing at numerous males who were naked and showering in the open shower area.
The witness saw Woo entering and exiting the toilet more than once. He also confirmed that the phone was in recording mode by looking at the phone screen.
To avoid escalating matters, the witness decided not to inform the victims about what was going on. Instead, he called the police and followed the operator's instructions to take a photo of Woo for identification.
He then followed Woo to a multi-storey car park until police officers arrived and detained him.
The police found videos of males showering at the amphitheatre toilet in Woo's phone and raided his home. They seized devices from him and found numerous videos of unknown male individuals along with pornographic videos.
Woo admitted that he felt an urge to make recordings whenever he came across male individuals he found attractive, while in changing rooms or shower areas.
The police found 10 videos recorded between Apr 14, 2022 and May 30, 2022 capturing male individuals partially or fully naked in the changing room and shower area of a sauna.
Another 30 videos from his hard disk showed unknown male individuals partially or fully naked in the locker room of the California Fitness Gym in Novena.
These were recorded between Dec 23, 2010 and Jun 17, 2011.
Woo admitted that he viewed the clips for his own pleasure and said he did not distribute the videos to anyone else.
Another 13 videos on Woo's Google Drive, recorded in February 2014, showed male individuals partially or fully naked in the locker room of the California Fitness Gym outlet in Novena, which has since closed.
Woo said he had uploaded the videos to his drive as there had been insufficient storage on his phone.
The prosecution sought 27 to 31 weeks' jail, saying the nature of obscenity was "significant" as a considerable number of videos captured the private parts of the victims.
Defence lawyer Riko Isaac from Amolat & Partners asked for 22 to 25 weeks' jail instead.
He said Woo, who had confessed during investigations, was struggling with his sexuality and had committed the offences out of a lapse in judgment.
The judge allowed Woo to begin his jail term in September.
CNA has contacted the Ministry of Education for comment.
Continue reading...
The witness called the police, believing that the teacher was recording his students in the toilet. However, the victims did not include the students.
Checks by the police later revealed that Woo Weng Chuan, 51, had taken illicit videos of other men in changing rooms.
Woo, who is no longer a teacher, was sentenced to five months and five weeks' jail on Tuesday (Aug 26).
When a prison sentence is imposed that combines months with four weeks or more, CNA reports the sentences as spelt out by the court as months vary in length.
Woo pleaded guilty to three charges, including voyeurism and making obscene films under the Films Act. Another three charges were taken into consideration.
The ages of the victims were not given in court papers, and there was no gag order imposed in this case.
THE CASE
The court heard that Woo was a teacher at a secondary school.
On the morning of Jun 1, 2022, he was with some students at the MacRitchie Reservoir amphitheatre, as he was the teacher in charge for the track and field co-curricular activity.
The students were training that morning, and Woo was usually tasked with taking care of the students' bags and managing the beginning and end of training sessions.
While the students were training, Woo saw a few male individuals showering in the open shower area at the amphitheatre toilet.
He felt the urge to film them showering and turned on the recording function on his phone. He then walked around more than once, with his phone camera pointing outwards as he held it.
A 33-year-old man who had gone for a run at the reservoir emerged from a shower in the amphitheatre toilet and saw Woo.
He noticed Woo holding his phone with the camera pointing outwards and observed him walking around with the device pointing at numerous males who were naked and showering in the open shower area.
The witness saw Woo entering and exiting the toilet more than once. He also confirmed that the phone was in recording mode by looking at the phone screen.
To avoid escalating matters, the witness decided not to inform the victims about what was going on. Instead, he called the police and followed the operator's instructions to take a photo of Woo for identification.
He then followed Woo to a multi-storey car park until police officers arrived and detained him.
OTHER VIDEOS FOUND IN HIS DEVICES
The police found videos of males showering at the amphitheatre toilet in Woo's phone and raided his home. They seized devices from him and found numerous videos of unknown male individuals along with pornographic videos.
Woo admitted that he felt an urge to make recordings whenever he came across male individuals he found attractive, while in changing rooms or shower areas.
The police found 10 videos recorded between Apr 14, 2022 and May 30, 2022 capturing male individuals partially or fully naked in the changing room and shower area of a sauna.
Another 30 videos from his hard disk showed unknown male individuals partially or fully naked in the locker room of the California Fitness Gym in Novena.
These were recorded between Dec 23, 2010 and Jun 17, 2011.
Woo admitted that he viewed the clips for his own pleasure and said he did not distribute the videos to anyone else.
Another 13 videos on Woo's Google Drive, recorded in February 2014, showed male individuals partially or fully naked in the locker room of the California Fitness Gym outlet in Novena, which has since closed.
Woo said he had uploaded the videos to his drive as there had been insufficient storage on his phone.
The prosecution sought 27 to 31 weeks' jail, saying the nature of obscenity was "significant" as a considerable number of videos captured the private parts of the victims.
Defence lawyer Riko Isaac from Amolat & Partners asked for 22 to 25 weeks' jail instead.
He said Woo, who had confessed during investigations, was struggling with his sexuality and had committed the offences out of a lapse in judgment.
The judge allowed Woo to begin his jail term in September.
CNA has contacted the Ministry of Education for comment.
Continue reading...