SINGAPORE Oct 30 — He bought mini cameras online, modified them so they were concealed within a laptop bag, and used them to take upskirt videos of women in various malls.
While working as a lecturer at the Institute of Technical Education (ITE), Chia Teck Huat specifically targeted middle-aged “office ladies” wearing short skirts.
He managed to take 335 videos of unidentified women before he was caught.
Yesterday, the 41-year-old Singaporean pleaded guilty to three charges of insulting a woman’s modesty. Another such charge will be considered for sentencing on December 7.
He is now married with a one-year-old son and works as a part-time deliveryman, his lawyers told the court.
He was promoted to senior lecturer in ITE in 2012 and “received excellent job appraisals” before being suspended due to the offences, which he committed from July to October 2017, they added.
The court heard that during this period, he dismantled the mini cameras he had bought to conceal in his laptop bag.
The camera was connected to a portable charger in the bag. Footage recorded would be saved on a micro SD card.
He zipped the laptop bag up so that it appeared closed, save for an opening from where the camera could take photos.
He perfected this setup after a few attempts, and kept two or more spare cameras in his bag. He broke at least two while taking the videos.
While the video recording function was on, he walked around malls across the island including Plaza Singapura, Ion Orchard, Tampines Mall and Changi City Point looking for his victims.
He followed the women and surreptitiously positioned the modified camera underneath their dresses or skirts.
He reviewed the clips afterwards, deleting them if they did not capture footage of the victims’ underwear. If he was successful, he returned home, copied the files to his personal electronic devices, organised the files by dates and labelled them in order.
He took 83 videos in August 2017, 117 in September and 62 in October.
On October 23 that year, a man only identified as Alexander called the police to report Chia’s actions at a Daiso outlet in Plaza Singapura.
Chia was then arrested and police officers searched his home, seizing items such as a Microsoft Surface Pro4 tablet and camera lenses.
‘Relieved to be caught’
Deputy Public Prosecutor Kathy Chu sought at least 40 weeks’ jail on account of several aggravating factors. This included a high degree of planning and premeditation, the number of victims involved and the miniature recording devices used.
When he was arrested, he was using a camera that measured 2cm by 2cm.
In mitigation, his lawyers — Ravinderpal Singh, Joshua Tong and Justin Ng from Kalco Law — said that his marriage was “filled with difficulties”.
His mother was also suffering from advanced cancer around 2017, which gave him “tremendous stress and anxiety”.
“Unfortunately, at this point, he started experimenting with the idea of taking upskirt videos as it provided a release, albeit a wrong one, from his multiple stress points.
“He was actually relieved that he was caught by the police as he knew that his behaviour was being obsessive and compulsive, and that he was unable to control himself,” the lawyers added.
Since then, Chia has gone for several counselling sessions and is now a father.
A psychiatrist diagnosed him with voyeuristic disorder and “adjustment disorder with mixed disturbance of emotions and conducts”, which had contributed to his offences.
His lawyers ultimately sought 24 weeks’ jail, noting that this was his first brush with the law and that he was a “well-respected lecturer at ITE”.
In response to media queries, an ITE spokesperson said that Chia was dismissed from service in March 2018. “ITE has zero tolerance on any form of sexual misconduct among its staff.”
For each charge of insulting a woman’s modesty, Chia could be jailed up to a year or fined, or both.
From January 1, amendments to the Penal Code kicked in such that voyeurism is now a specific offence under Section 377BB. It carries up to two years’ jail or a fine, or both. — TODAY
