Man takes upskirt photos of woman in Paya Lebar, gets detained by passerby
On Monday (7 April), a man pled guilty to three counts of voyeurism after he was caught secretly filming upskirt photos and videos of a woman at Paya Lebar MRT.
Then 20-year-old Benjamin Kow tried to escape after getting caught — but didn’t get far, thanks to a quick-thinking passer-by who chased him down on a bicycle.
The incident took place on 24 Sept 2024 at about 11.43pm, according to Shin Min Daily News.
At the time, Kow was taking the escalator at Exit D of the MRT station.
Source: S5A-0043 on Wikimedia Commons, for illustration purposes only
In front of him stood the victim, a 29-year-old Korean woman.
Kow then took out his mobile phone and discreetly took upskirt photos of her.
However, during this process, he accidentally brushed the phone against her calf.
The victim turned around and saw Kow holding his phone with the camera lens facing upwards.
Suspecting that he had been taking photos, she confronted him and demanded to see his phone.
Source: Kaspars Grinvalds on Canva, for illustration purposes only
Kow handed over his phone as requested. In it, the woman discovered the upskirt videos and photos of herself.
She quickly called the police. Kow then suddenly snatched his phone back and fled the scene.
In the process, he shoved the victim to the ground, resulting in elbow and ankle injuries.
Passserby gives chase on bicycle
A nearby passer-by, Mr Nurhakeem, heard the victim shouting for help and gave chase on his bicycle.
He successfully caught Kow and detained him.
While waiting for police to arrive, the offender allegedly tried to delete the upskirt footage in a last-ditch attempt to destroy evidence.
Police officers eventually arrested Kow at 1.05am on 25 Sept 2024.
Defendant had previously taken upskirt photos of 2 women
In court, Kow was charged with three counts of voyeurism. He pled guilty on 7 April.
He had previously taken upskirt photos of women on the escalator at Dakota MRT station, first on 29 Jan 2024 and secondly on 23 May 2024.
These two prior victims did not report the case to the police as they were unaware of the crime.
The judge will sentence Kow on 16 June.
Additionally, Mr Nurhakeem received a Public Spiritedness Award on 11 March this year for his actions in stopping the offender.
Also read: SBS Transit & SMRT staff work together to catch upskirt photo suspect at Dhoby Ghaut MRT
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Featured image adapted from Kaspars Grinvalds on Canva, for illustration purposes only, and by MS News.
