A full-time national serviceman who committed 19 “upskirt” offences, mostly at MRT stations, was jailed for nine weeks on Wednesday.
Muhammad Raimi Kadir, 21, admitted seven of 19 charges of intruding women’s privacy by secretly filming them between November 2012 and September last year.
Deputy Public Prosecutor James Chew told the court that once Raimi spotted a woman with a short skirt, he would follow her from behind until they reached the escalator.
He would stand behind the victim, switch on his camera then place it under her skirt to capture a recording or photograph of her thighs and underwear.
As well as MRT stations such as Bugis, Lorong Chuan, MacPherson and Tanah Merah, Raimi also committed the offence at ITE College Central in Ang Mo Kio.
He was arrested by two officers near Bugis MRT station on Sept 8 last year for behaving suspiciously.
Raimi had earlier taken an eight-second upskirt video recording of a woman at Bugis+ mall while standing behind her on the escalator.
The cops found similar videos and photographs stored in his camera and took him to the station for investigation.
Twenty days later, Clementi police officers saw Raimi behaving suspiciously in front of Clementi Mall and approached him. He fled but they managed to detain him.
Upskirt photographs and a video were found in the electronic gadgets he was carrying.
Police searched his home and seized several electronic items containing offending material.
Pleading for a lighter sentence, Raimi said in mitigation that he committed the offences in a moment of folly. He realised his mistakes and promised to turn over a new leaf.
He could have been jailed for up to one year and/or fined for each count of insulting modesty.
Source: www.straitstimes.com
