Singapore jails ex-NUS student who used spy camera to film women showering in hostel

Schizophrenia is a major psychotic illness that alters certain realities for sufferers. They are prone to hallucinations such as hearing voices that others do not hear, and they often suffer from paranoia or delusions of being followed or controlled.

Ng had pleaded guilty on November 14 to a charge of possessing voyeuristic recordings and one of criminal trespass.

Two other charges of possessing voyeuristic imagery were taken into account for sentencing.

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A suitability report for mandatory treatment order that was requested by the court concluded that he was a suitable candidate, but the prosecution called for Ng to be jailed.

This sentencing option is for offenders who suffer from mental conditions when they commit a crime. Instead of serving jail time, they are directed to undergo psychiatric treatment for up to three years.

During the hour-long hearing, Deputy Public Prosecutor Selene Yap argued that since Ng had planned his crime and had kept the videos of the naked victims, he should be jailed to deter him from reoffending.

She also noted that he had been able to control and plan his actions, having taken precautions to not be detected when he entered the toilets.

However, Ng’s lawyer Tan Jun Yin of Tride Law Corporation said that three psychiatrists had found Ng to have committed his crimes while motivated by his paranoia.

One psychiatrist described Ng’s case as a “rare instance of psychotically driven behaviour, rather than deviant sexual behaviour”.

“He believed people were watching him and could see his thoughts,” Tan said, adding that he had installed the cameras to “watch them and seek revenge”.

She added that Ng has not reoffended since seeking treatment three years and eight months ago.

Ng was an NUS student and had been staying with his sister in her room on the third floor of the NUS College of Alice and Peter Tan because his home was undergoing renovations.

The building is a hostel for NUS students such as Ng and his sister. It is only accessible to residents using a key card.

To commit his offence, Ng bought two motion-activated spy cameras disguised as smoke detectors for about S$200 (US$148) each.

Sometime in October 2019, he entered the female toilet on the third level of the building where he fixed the spy camera onto the ceiling of the toilet with tape, angled to capture women showering.

He would remove the spy camera a week later and transfer the videos and images onto his laptop.

He repeated the process three times in the female toilets on the third, ninth and 12th floors of the building that had female-only rooms.

He was caught on March 7, 2020, while in the 12th-floor toilet at about 5am when he had checked on the camera and used the bathroom.

A resident in the building found the toilet door locked, and spotted a mobile phone that Ng had placed on a ledge facing the door. He had done so to be alerted if someone approached the toilet.

Campus security personnel were alerted and gained entry into the cubicle where they found Ng.

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He was later arrested, and a total of 23 recordings of five female victims naked and showering were found.

Although Ng was found suitable for the mandatory treatment order, District Judge Wong Su Ann said that he should be sentenced to a jail term.

She said that Ng’s actions were a grave intrusion into the privacy of multiple victims, especially in a dormitory “akin to a second home”.

Psychiatrists had found that Ng was not of unsound mind and that he was able to “appreciate the gravity of [his] actions”, the judge noted.

The psychiatrists’ reports also showed that while difficult, Ng still had an “element of control”.

However, she took into account that Ng suffered a psychiatric illness and has also shown genuine remorse through his actions such as by getting a part-time job to pay for his treatment.

He will begin his two-month jail sentence on February 1 after the judge agreed to his request for the deferment so that he can tie up loose ends.

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NUS told TODAY in November that a board of discipline was convened to look into the allegations against Ng and it had terminated his candidature with effect from April 2020.

“NUS takes a strong stand against sexual misconduct and remains committed to building a culture of respect on our campuses,” it said.

“Any student or staff [member] who breaches the NUS statutes and regulations will face severe sanctions.”

For possession of voyeuristic image or recording, Ng could have been jailed for up to two years or fined, or both.

For criminal trespass, he could have been jailed for up to three months or fined up to S$1,500 (US$1,117), or both.