Secondary School Discipline Master Takes Over 100 Upskirt Videos Of Colleagues & Students
Usually, it is a discipline master’s duty to ensure that students are behaving themselves at school.
However, a discipline master of a secondary school in Singapore acted way out of line himself when he took over 100 upskirt videos of teachers and students.
This reportedly went on for more than three years.
On Friday (2 Sep), he pleaded guilty to three charges of insulting a woman’s modesty. The prosecution sought a jail sentence of between 12 and 18 months, pointing out that he abused his power as well as his colleagues’ trust.
His sentencing will take place in November.
Discipline master takes over 100 upskirt videos in 3 years
According to Channel NewsAsia (CNA), the accused is a 49-year-old father-of-three who has worked at the school since 2008. He served as discipline master since 2015 and taught Mandarin.
His name, as well as the names of the school and his victims, were not published due to a gag order by the court.
For over three years between Apr 2015 and Jul 2018, he allegedly took 156 upskirt videos of at least 38 female colleagues. Most of them were teachers.
He did this by inviting them to key in data at his desk, and then putting his mobile phone under their skirts to film.
Men, as well as women wearing pants, were rarely asked to go to his workstation for data entry purposes.
In addition, the defendant had shot 12 upskirt videos of at least seven female students from May 2015 to Feb 2018.
CNA reports that he would take them to the discipline room and then record them as they were using the computer.
The prosecutor told the court that the man would use the clips, which he transferred from his office laptop to an external hard disk, for “his own sexual pleasure”. He did not share or publish them anywhere else.
Once, the discipline master confiscated the phone of a male student who had filmed two upskirt videos of a female teacher.
Under the guise of wanting to retrieve evidence, the man filmed the videos with his phone and added them to his own collection.
Also took upskirt video of female relative
In Jul 2018, one of his female colleagues, who suspected that the man had been taking upskirt videos of teachers, filed a police report.
During investigations, the authorities discovered 173 upskirt videos on the accused’s hard disk. Each clip bore the names or initials of his victims, along with descriptions.
Furthermore, he had also taken an upskirt video of a female relative at his mother-in-law’s party.
Prosecutor asks for 12 to 18 months’ jail
In court on Friday (2 Sep), the man pleaded guilty to three charges of insulting a woman’s modesty. Five more charges will be considered during his sentencing, which will take place in November.
The prosecution sought between a year to 18 months’ imprisonment for the accused.
She pointed out that he abused not just his colleagues’ trust, but also his position as a discipline master.
On the other hand, she acknowledged that the defendant was going through major depression at the time following his mother’s death in 2015.
The frequency of sexual intimacy with his wife also “drastically diminished” after she had a medical operation in 2016.
That said, the prosecutor stated,
While these factors invite some sympathy, they do not excuse the accused’s conduct.
“Double depression” allegedly contributed to offences
The defence’s argument was that the man was suffering from “double depression” when he committed the offences.
This condition apparently contributed to his actions, said a doctor from the Institute of Mental Health (IMH).
Therefore, the lawyer called for a mandatory treatment order suitability report for his client.
Noting the defendant’s mental state and its contributory link to his behaviour, the judge granted the request.
However, she warned that even if he is found to be suitable, the court may not necessarily impose the order.
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Featured image adapted from Angelica Reyes on Unsplash and is for illustration purposes only.
