A woman took to Instagram to share details about an alleged case of filming and voyeurism while she was in a gym’s shower facility on 29 Sep.
After discovering the act, she claimed that she couldn’t reach the gym staff despite several attempts. She thus filed a police report.
Later, she alleged that the gym operator said in a phone conversation that it would be “very, very ugly” if she made a police report before talking to the gym.
The gym said in a subsequent statement that it is cooperating with police and apologised to the woman for the misunderstanding they had during the phone call.
Investigations into the case are ongoing.
The woman in question, Ms Drealya Chen, told MS News that the incident happened on Friday (29 Sep) at around 7pm while she was showering at Strength Masters Gym, located at Tai Seng Centre.
While in the shower, she looked down at one point, only to see a phone peeking underneath the cubicle door. In particular, she allegedly noticed the front camera of an iPhone recording her.
Ms Chen immediately screamed upon spotting the phone and tried calling the gym staff on her own phone, but claimed that nobody answered.
There were allegedly no staff members at the gym then. According to Strength Masters Gym’s Instagram, the front desk is only staffed between 12pm to 7pm on weekdays.
Ms Chen eventually called the police, who promptly arrived at the gym.
Source: @ttzyxx on Instagram
Shaken by what happened, Ms Chen wrote that the incident made her feel unsafe.
“I no longer feel safe in Singapore, but I am determined to overcome this traumatic experience,” she said.
Source: @ttzyxx on Instagram
Explaining her intention behind sharing her experience, she stated her belief that “it is likely that there are other victims who have unknowingly fallen prey to voyeurism”. Therefore, she hoped to alert other gym-goers to possible threats to their safety and privacy.
Ms Chen also asked for help so that the voyeurs wouldn’t post or distribute any compromising videos on any platform.
“This incident has had a severe impact on my mental health,” she revealed. She has also apparently been facing difficulties functioning at work.
During a phone call, parts of which were uploaded by Ms Chen as well as her friend Jade Rasif, a man can be heard saying the following:
Before we can check the CCTV, you have to come to us. Because I am the operator of the gym. You have to get in touch with us first before going to the police, otherwise it’s going to be very, very ugly.
The clip taken by Ms Rasif shows another part of the conversation, as follows:
“…because we are running a business as well, I don’t want…all the members would think that, ‘why the management irresponsible’, you know what I’m trying to say?”
Source: @djjaderasif on Instagram
The context appeared to be that the gym owner wanted Ms Chen to approach him first before calling the police.
Later, according to Ms Chen, the gym owner retrieved CCTV footage of the gym and realised that two gym members were lurking outside the female shower room during the time she was inside.
She mentioned that the owner apologised to her afterwards.
The management of Strength Masters Gym subsequently made an Instagram post regarding the incident.
They apologised for any misunderstanding that might have arisen from the phone conversation, parts of which Ms Chen and Ms Rasif uploaded online.
Source: @strengthmastersgym on Instagram
“We would like to reiterate that we did not suggest resolving this issue privately,” the statement read.
The gym claimed that as staff were off-site, the gym’s intention was to check the CCTV footage and then make a police report together with Ms Chen.
They added that they have cooperated fully with the police and provided evidence at their request.
“We would also like to assure the public that we are working with the police to find the perpetrator,” the gym stated, emphasising that they do not condone acts of voyeurism.
“Strength Masters is a professional gym and we have taken many precautions to ensure the safety of our members.”
Ms Chen noted that the only form of security at the gym was the CCTVs.
Despite what happened, she told MS News she has no intention of targeting the gym in her posts.
“I am not targeting the gym as I really liked the gym and intended to sign up as a member until the voyeurism incident happened,” she shared.
Just an hour before the incident at around 7pm on 29 Sep, she shared in an Instagram story that she wanted to sign up for the gym.
Also read: S’pore Woman Has S$300 Cash Stolen From Locker At Revolution Spin Studio, Police Report Lodged
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Featured image adapted from @ttzyxx on Instagram.
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