• Shuan Ho Yan Liang took a total of 469 illicit videos of women before he was caught
• The NTU undergraduate filmed his victims both on and off campus 
• The identities of many of his victims remain unknown
• He was jailed for nine months and three weeks

SINGAPORE — A 26-year-old psychology undergraduate from Nanyang Technological University made a plea to fellow voyeurs on Wednesday (Sept 23) after he was jailed for nine months and three weeks for taking obscene videos of women.

After acknowledging that an apology now “can’t undo many of the things” he had done, Shaun Ho Yan Liang had a message for those with the same voyeuristic tendencies as him.

“I hope that whoever is out there making the same mistakes as me will seek help as well (and get treatment),” he told the court.

He added that while he felt “a lot of fear” when he was arrested two years ago, there was “a very huge sense of relief” as well, knowing that he won’t be committing more offences.

He had since attended 15 physical counselling sessions, 12 private counselling sessions, nine psychiatric consultations and received seven medication refills, the court heard on Wednesday.

Earlier this month, Ho had pleaded guilty to three charges of insulting a woman’s modesty and possessing 106 obscene films, which he had downloaded from pornographic websites.

The court heard then that he had filmed up women’s skirts and from under their tops for more than four months, amassing 469 videos before being caught red-handed.

He took the videos on and off campus, with most of his 335 victims still unidentified. He was nabbed on July 22, 2018 at Eastpoint mall in Simei.

When meting out his sentence on Wednesday, District Judge Adam Nakhoda mentioned the case of convicted molester Terence Siow, which caused a public outcry when a district judge sentenced him to probation last year, after stating that his academic results showed that he had the “potential to excel in life”.

Earlier this year, Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon sentenced the mathematics undergraduate from the National University of Singapore to two weeks’ jail instead, saying that an offender’s scholastic excellence would be irrelevant unless a link can be drawn between his good grades and his capacity to be rehabilitated.

District Judge Nakhoda said that Ho is “obviously a bright individual”, but he does not see any link between this attribute and the undergraduate's capacity to be rehabilitated.

He also considered Ho a “persistent and habitual” offender whose approach was brazen.

The court had heard that he took the obscene videos between February and July 2018 at various locations, including a laboratory at the National Institute of Education’s School of Science, an overhead bridge at NTU’s North Spine, and the student activity centre at North Spine.

He would target women wearing shorts or skirts and follow them for a period of time, using a mobile application to film them.

He also took these videos almost every day, watching them again when alone to “derive pleasure”, Deputy Public Prosecutor Sean Teh said then.

In response to TODAY’s queries earlier this month, an NTU spokesperson said that Ho is no longer attending classes and will be subject to the university’s disciplinary proceedings after he is sentenced.

NTU generally takes action once court proceedings have concluded “so as to be able to take into account the findings of the court”.

“The university takes a strong stand against sexual misconduct. Any student who has committed such acts of misconduct will be subject to disciplinary action, which may include suspension or expulsion from the university, depending on the severity of his offences, and other mitigating or aggravating factors,” the spokesperson added.

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

For possessing obscene films, he could have been jailed up to six months or fined up to S$20,000, or both.