Jail for doctor who took over 3,000 upskirt videos
A doctor who concealed a camera in his shoe and used it to record more than 3,000 upskirt videos was sentenced yesterday to three years’ jail.
Chu Ben Wee, 28, is one of the most prolific serial voyeurs to come before the courts, said Deputy Public Prosecutor Sruthi Boppana.
The prosecutor added that Chu had recorded videos in various locations, including hospitals and junior colleges. They cannot be named due to a gag order to protect the victims’ identities.
The Singaporean was initially arrested on Jan 18, 2018, but re-offended while he was under police investigation in April last year. Granted bail that same month, he went back to his old ways in July last year.
Chu, who appeared in court via video link, pleaded guilty yesterday to four counts of insulting the women’s modesty. Thirteen other charges, mainly for similar offences, were considered during sentencing.
The court heard that Chu started recording such videos when he was a student at a popular junior college in 2009.
He later targeted women in two hospitals in 2017 and 2018 but these offences went undetected.
After recording the videos, Chu would transfer them to a hard disk, giving the videos titles relating to factors such as the victim’s race, estimated age and type of underwear.
Chu was finally caught when he targeted a woman in a shop at Square 2 shopping mall in Novena around 7pm on Jan 18, 2018.
He was standing close to her when she felt something touching her ankle.
The woman spotted Chu’s hidden camera when she squatted down and pretended to look at items on a shelf. She confronted him and Chu was later arrested.
When police searched his home the next day, they found hard disks which held nearly 3,000 upskirt videos.
Chu was released and while under police investigation, he targeted another woman in Plaza Singapura shopping centre on April 27 last year. She alerted the police and Chu was arrested soon after.
Three months later, while out on bail, he bought a T-shirt and trousers commonly worn by male students of a junior college.
He went there on July 31 last year and changed into the clothes so that he could blend in with the students.
Chu then went around the school and recorded upskirt videos. A female student noticed he was behaving in a suspicious manner and Chu was arrested yet again.
Yesterday, DPP Sruthi said that Chu was diagnosed with paraphilic and major depressive disorders. Paraphilia refers to sexual interest in atypical situations or objects.
There was, however, no contributory link between his mental illnesses and the offences, added DPP Sruthi.
She urged Deputy Principal District Judge Seah Chi-Ling to sentence Chu to at least three years and one month’s jail, stressing that his offences were premeditated.
Defence lawyer Luke Lee, however, pleaded for a shorter jail term and said that his client could benefit from treatment.
Chu’s name was still on the list of registered healthcare professionals in Singapore as at yesterday afternoon.