Probation is usually granted to offenders below the age of 21. But in certain cases, it could be granted to adult offenders too if it’s their first time committing a crime.
The court must also have decided that the offender shows strong potential for reform.
Unfortunately, a Singaporean man committed crimes again 8 months after being released from probation.
On Thursday (6 May), he pleaded guilty to 15 charges of insulting a woman’s modesty after taking upskirt videos of multiple females.
He was sentenced to 15 weeks’ jail.
Channel NewsAsia (CNA) reports that 24-year-old Marcus Phua Xie Yi resumed taking upskirt videos 8 months after completing an 18-month probation sentence in 2016.
When he served National Service, he took upskirt videos on multiple occasions between May and Oct 2018.
He committed the offences within the vicinity of educational institutes such as the Singapore University of Social Sciences (SUSS), the Singapore Institute of Management, and several MRT stations.
The court heard that he would closely follow behind his victims and attempt to record videos with his mobile phone when they were on the escalator or staircase in front of him.
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He would also tilt his camera angle to capture the faces of his victims whenever possible.
These videos would then be transferred to his laptop and kept for his viewing pleasure.
On 12 Oct 2018, Phua was eventually caught after attempting to film a woman on the pedestrian bridge near SUSS.
During the arrest, it was revealed that his laptop contained multiple upskirt videos of his victims.
Phua’s defence lawyers Cory Wong and Josephus Tan requested the court to ask for a report assessing if he would be suitable for a mandatory treatment order.
District Judge Marvin Bay, however, rejected the request based on a report by the Institute of Mental Health, which stated that his mental condition did not affect his judgement or self-control.
Judge Bay also pointed out that one has to draw the line to “preserve the privacy of women and girls”.
Phua was given a chance to reform during his probation and failed to take it, he said.
Mr Wong highlighted in court that his client suffered from a major depressive disorder.
He’d experienced several personal tragedies in his formative years and lost multiple family members.
However, the psychiatrist from IMH that examined him declared that his condition did not impair his judgment or impulse control when performing his crimes.
Phua could have been jailed for up to a year, fined or both for each charge.
When Phua was sentenced the first time, he was handed a chance to reform his old ways. Sadly, he failed to do so and continued repeating his offences.
In this case, the judge deemed his actions unworthy of another chance.
Hopefully, Phua will be given the help he needs so he can avoid repeating the same offence in the future.
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Featured image adapted from Flickr.
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