6 hours ago
Singaporean man jailed for taking upskirt photos of MRT commuter
SINGAPORE: A 26-year-old Singaporean man who recently got married has been sentenced to 28 days in jail after he was caught taking upskirt photographs of a female commuter on the MRT.
Lai Zi Yang pleaded guilty to one count of voyeurism, with investigations revealing that he had taken more than 100 similar images of other women, stored on his phone.
On Nov 1, 2024, Lai was accused of using his mobile phone to discreetly take 14 upskirt images of a woman while on an escalator at Tampines MRT station.
He had allegedly positioned the phone on his knee with the camera lens angled upwards, targeting the victim standing in front of him.
"A fellow commuter witnessed the act, confronted Lai, and informed the victim, who then filed a police report," The Straits Times (ST) reported.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Teng Yin Hang told the court that Lai was travelling from Jalan Besar to meet a friend for dinner when the incident occurred.
ST reported that Lai was tempted to act upon seeing the woman in a skirt, a compulsion he admitted to experiencing regularly when in proximity to women in short skirts.
Subsequent investigations uncovered that Lai had committed similar offences against at least 10 other women.
"Over 100 voyeuristic images were found in a password-protected folder on his phone.
"Lai told investigators he would transfer the images into the secure folder, which would then delete them automatically from his photo gallery. He admitted to viewing the images when alone at home or in the toilet."
Lai's lawyer, Low Chun Yee, said in mitigation that his client had only recently married and was awaiting the keys to his Build-To-Order (BTO) flat.
"He is fully aware that what he did was wrong and has since sought voluntary treatment. He intends to continue with therapy," Low said.
District Judge John Ng, in passing sentence, noted the pattern of Lai's offending behaviour and the number of images found during the investigation.
The judge emphasised that such offences are notoriously difficult to detect and stressed the importance of sending a strong deterrent message to others.
Under Singapore law, individuals convicted of voyeurism face up to two years in prison, a fine, caning, or any combination of these penalties.
