Expelled NTU student gets short detention order for filming woman in hall toilet

Expelled NTU student gets short detention order for filming woman in hall toilet

The Nanyang Technological University (NTU) student who was expelled after filming a woman in a shower on campus was sentenced by a court on Monday (Jan 20) to a short detention order of 14 days.

Chinese national Han Shiyu, 18, pleaded guilty to one charge of insulting the modesty of a woman and another of criminal trespass, with two other charges taken into consideration.

A short detention order (SDO) detains an offender in prison for a short time, but does not leave a criminal record upon release.

Han was a scholar at NTU at the time of the offence in August 2019 and was in Singapore on a student pass, studying Electrical and Electronic Engineering, the court heard.

His girlfriend, who stayed at the same hall as the victim, gave him her key to retrieve some belongings. This gave Han access to the hall.

At about 9.20pm on Aug 12, 2019, Han entered the women's toilet at the hall in NTU using his girlfriend's key.

The victim, a 20-year-old woman studying at the university, was showering in a cubicle, said Deputy Public Prosecutor Michelle Lu.

Han heard the sound of water running and decided to record a video of the victim.

He entered the cubicle beside the victim's, and extended his phone with its recording mode on under a partition separating the two cubicles.

The victim noticed part of the phone under the cubicle partition, along with its red recording light.

Han retracted his phone after taking a six-second video, before using the toilet in another cubicle.

The victim was shocked and afraid to confront Han, so she texted a male friend, who went to look for her.

The victim later went to look for security guards for help while her male friend waited for Han outside the women's washroom.

A security officer called the police that night saying: "We have a case of Peeping Tom. A male subject was found in the female toilet."

Investigations revealed that the hall had specific levels for female residents only, with women's toilets located on those levels that are accessible only with keys issued to hall residents.

After Han was charged, NTU confirmed that it had expelled Han from October last year, stressing that the university "takes a zero tolerance approach towards harassment and takes all cases of misconduct involving harassment seriously".

"Students who are found guilty of misconduct face disciplinary proceedings that include expulsion from the university," said NTU.

SCHOLARSHIP REVOKED, NO LONGER INTENDS TO STUDY IN SINGAPORE

The court heard on Monday that Han has had his scholarship revoked, and indicated that he no longer has any intention to remain in Singapore to further his studies.

The prosecutor urged the court to impose the maximum 14 days' short detention order.

Ms Lu noted that while such cases typically warrant a custodial or short sentence, the accused in this case was a young and foreign offender who does not have any intention to remain in Singapore.

"Mr Han has been expelled from the university, and he will be providing the relevant undertaking that he will not be pursuing any tertiary studies in Singapore," said Ms Lu.

Defence lawyer Che Wei Chin noted that the prosecution had set in place certain conditions for the short detention order.

He said his client was going back to Liaoning, China, for an entrance examination after serving his sentence.

For insulting a woman's modesty, Han could have been jailed for up to a year, fined, or both.

For criminal trespass, he could have been jailed for up to three months, fined a maximum S$1,500, or both.

~Channel News Asia~