SINGAPORE — A 46-year-old Singapore permanent resident was jailed 12 weeks on Monday (Jan 11) for filming up the skirts of his female colleagues and sister-in-law.

The man, who worked for the South Asia branch of a multinational corporation in the technology industry, cannot be named due to a court order to protect his victims.

His workplace and victims cannot be named either. He was employed at the firm in Singapore since 2013 before being fired in 2019, after he was caught filming his colleagues.

On Monday, he pleaded guilty to five counts of insulting a woman’s modesty. District Judge Adam Nakhoda considered another 10 similar charges for sentencing. 

The court heard that he first filmed his wife’s sister at his former residence in May 2015. He had held his mobile phone under the dining table to do so when she was there for dinner.

He took another video up her skirt two years ago, again at his old home along Sims Avenue. Both videos captured her underwear and inner thighs.

From 2016 to 2019, he took more upskirt videos of unknown colleagues at his workplace.

In February 2019, a senior manager from the company learned of some allegations against the man, which were unrelated to the present offences.

He was accused of awarding a disproportionate amount of business to a supplier. While the company eventually found no wrongdoing on his part, the perception of wrongdoing was sufficient to terminate his employment given his senior position.

At the time, as part of the company’s standard procedure, the senior manager asked him to hand over his mobile phone for internal investigations. 

He cooperated and she later discovered upskirt videos of their colleagues.

She made a police report at Clementi Neighbourhood Police Centre on May 10, 2019. He was fired that day.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Grace Chua sought at least 14 weeks’ jail, arguing that his offences took place over a protracted period and involved multiple victims.

In mitigation, the man’s lawyer Shashi Nathan from Withers KhattarWong told the court that his client was the family’s sole breadwinner, putting up with the “pressures of a demanding job” to provide for his children.

His oldest daughter, now aged 15, suffers from severe psychological issues. He also just learned that she had confessed to having sex with her tuition teacher.

“She needs (his father) now more than ever… she is heavily reliant on him for emotional support, and improvements to her mental health were significant after he left his job and was able to stay home and care for her full-time,” Mr Nathan added.

As for the upskirt videos, the lawyer said that his client “would be overcome with shame and guilt each time he succumbed to the temptation of filming these women”.

He had attended several sessions with his psychiatrist and psychologist and his wife is “relentlessly supportive”, Mr Nathan told the court.

For insulting a woman’s modesty, the man could have been jailed for up to a year or fined, or both.