SINGAPORE: A serial upskirter who has been arrested multiple times in five years has been sentenced to jail again after he reoffended shortly upon his release from prison, with the same modus operandi of placing a hidden camera in his shoe.
Tham Heng Yew, 29, was given 10 months' jail on Monday (Nov 15). He pleaded guilty to one count of voyeurism, with a second charge taken into consideration.
Tham had been sentenced in March 2020 to 44 weeks' jail for 30 charges, mostly for insulting a woman's modesty, with another 138 charges taken into consideration.
He would cut a hole in his shoe before placing his phone inside, with the camera facing up. Tham would then film upskirt videos when walking around malls and his school.
Shortly after being released from prison, Tham reoffended.
On Jan 21 this year, he went to a Daiso outlet at Plaza Singapura. A woman shopping at the outlet noticed that Tham had been following her for some time and was close to her.
She observed that Tham's foot was close to her feet, and realised that there was a hole at the top of his shoe. She could see a camera lens through the hole.
The victim waited for Tham to leave, before calling her boyfriend from elsewhere in the store to tell him what had happened. They then informed Daiso employees of the incident, who called for mall security.
Meanwhile, Tham realised he was being followed and deleted five upskirt videos of five women that he had taken on his phone.
He tried to flee by the stairs, but was stopped by the victim's boyfriend. Security officers detained him until the police arrived and seized his phone.
Investigations revealed that Tham had decided to go to the mall to take upskirt videos, and had used a pair of scissors to cut a hole at the top of his left shoe so he could place his phone in the shoe and take upskirt videos of women.
While at Daiso, he looked out for women in their late 20s to 30s who were wearing dresses or skirts. He would place his phone in video-recording mode and position it in his left shoe, before sliding his foot between the legs of the victim.
Between 6pm and 7.45pm that day, he recorded five upskirt videos in total - of the victim and four other unidentified women.
The prosecutor asked for 10 to 12 months' jail, noting that Tham has similar previous offences.
In mitigation, Tham said he was very remorseful and that he was "quite lost" and "down" at the time of the offences.
He said he was unsuccessful in applying for jobs after he was released from jail, and that he felt "rather depressed" because of this.
He said he has since taken up counselling sessions from a relative and delivers food on a part-time basis to keep himself occupied.
For voyeurism, he could have been jailed up to two years, fined, caned, or given any combination of these penalties.
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Tham Heng Yew, 29, was given 10 months' jail on Monday (Nov 15). He pleaded guilty to one count of voyeurism, with a second charge taken into consideration.
Tham had been sentenced in March 2020 to 44 weeks' jail for 30 charges, mostly for insulting a woman's modesty, with another 138 charges taken into consideration.
He would cut a hole in his shoe before placing his phone inside, with the camera facing up. Tham would then film upskirt videos when walking around malls and his school.
Shortly after being released from prison, Tham reoffended.
On Jan 21 this year, he went to a Daiso outlet at Plaza Singapura. A woman shopping at the outlet noticed that Tham had been following her for some time and was close to her.
She observed that Tham's foot was close to her feet, and realised that there was a hole at the top of his shoe. She could see a camera lens through the hole.
The victim waited for Tham to leave, before calling her boyfriend from elsewhere in the store to tell him what had happened. They then informed Daiso employees of the incident, who called for mall security.
Meanwhile, Tham realised he was being followed and deleted five upskirt videos of five women that he had taken on his phone.
He tried to flee by the stairs, but was stopped by the victim's boyfriend. Security officers detained him until the police arrived and seized his phone.
Investigations revealed that Tham had decided to go to the mall to take upskirt videos, and had used a pair of scissors to cut a hole at the top of his left shoe so he could place his phone in the shoe and take upskirt videos of women.
While at Daiso, he looked out for women in their late 20s to 30s who were wearing dresses or skirts. He would place his phone in video-recording mode and position it in his left shoe, before sliding his foot between the legs of the victim.
Between 6pm and 7.45pm that day, he recorded five upskirt videos in total - of the victim and four other unidentified women.
The prosecutor asked for 10 to 12 months' jail, noting that Tham has similar previous offences.
In mitigation, Tham said he was very remorseful and that he was "quite lost" and "down" at the time of the offences.
He said he was unsuccessful in applying for jobs after he was released from jail, and that he felt "rather depressed" because of this.
He said he has since taken up counselling sessions from a relative and delivers food on a part-time basis to keep himself occupied.
For voyeurism, he could have been jailed up to two years, fined, caned, or given any combination of these penalties.
Continue reading...