7 weeks' jail for ex-NUS student who photographed women showering on campus

Shaffiq Alkhatib
The Straits Times
June 29, 2020

A former National University of Singapore (NUS) student was sentenced on Monday (June 29) to seven weeks' jail for snapping pictures of women while they were showering on campus.

Ryan You Jun Chao, now 26, who was a student at the university at the time of the offences, has since graduated.

On Feb 28, the Singaporean pleaded guilty to two counts of insulting a woman's modesty.

Two criminal trespass charges were considered during sentencing.

You was at NUS on Feb 14 last year when he felt "tempted" to check if a woman was in a shower.

He found an occupied cubicle, took out his mobile phone and held it over a partition to snap pictures of a 23-year-old woman.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Pavithra Ramkumar had earlier told District Judge Adam Nakhoda: "While the accused was taking the photographs, the victim saw a shadow outside the cubicle. The victim then looked up and spotted the accused's mobile phone above the cubicle wall."

The victim shouted and pushed the mobile phone away.

You then panicked and fled to a male toilet, the court heard.

Despite this close shave, he reoffended on March 5 last year and took photographs of another 23-year-old woman while she was in a shower.

He then left the female toilet and went to a nearby pantry to view the pictures.

The court heard that this second victim had also spotted someone above the door of the cubicle she was in.

She wrapped herself in a towel and waited until others entered the common female toilet before she felt safe enough to continue showering.

The victim finished her shower and spotted You in the pantry after she left the toilet. Both victims alerted the police in early March last year.

On Monday, the court heard that You intends to appeal against the sentence and his bail was set at $10,000.

In an earlier statement, NUS said that its board of discipline had conducted an inquiry into You's offences in April last year.

"After careful consideration, the (board) imposed disciplinary sanctions on Mr You, including suspension, deferred graduation, mandatory counselling and rehabilitation sessions. These disciplinary sanctions are part of Mr You's formal educational record at the university."

The university said it takes a strong stand against any form of sexual misconduct and has enhanced the disciplinary framework for sexual misconduct offences, as well as safety and security measures.

For each count of insulting a woman's modesty, an offender can be jailed for up to a year and fined.