A man has been sentenced to six months’ jail for secretly filming a 16-year-old boy in a public toilet cubicle, after claiming he was gathering “evidence” of littering and a sex act. The judgment, released on Saturday (Feb 21), saw District Judge Koo Zhi Xuan branding the offender a “shameless voyeur.”
Tan Wei Sien, whose age was not specified, faced a voyeurism charge for recording seven videos of the secondary school student at Causeway Point mall in Woodlands on the night of Oct 17, 2024. Court proceedings revealed that Tan did not know the victim and was in an adjacent cubicle at the time of the incident.
The boy, a Secondary 4 student dressed in uniform, had brought a packet of cooked rice into the “most spacious cubicle” to eat. After finishing his meal, he engaged in a private act while watching inappropriate content on his phone. The victim recounted seeing a hand from the neighbouring cubicle mimicking a sex act, which he captured in a short five-second video. He felt sexually harassed and reported the incident through the National Anti-Violence and Sexual Harassment website.
The court heard that Tan followed the boy to another toilet cubicle, where the boy took a photo of him washing his hands. The victim later identified Tan by his shoes and bag. Police arrested Tan on the same day.
In his statement, Tan claimed he noticed food litter and unusual behaviour in the adjacent cubicle, which aroused his “suspicion.” He insisted that he filmed the boy to gather evidence of littering, and not for sexual purposes. He emphasised his work as a cleaner and strong feelings about cleanliness as motivation for his actions.
However, Judge Koo dismissed Tan’s defence, noting there was no evidence of littering in the videos and that Tan had deliberately filmed the victim’s private act. The judge described Tan as “disingenuous” and uninterested in telling the truth, highlighting his repeated attempts to discredit prosecution evidence and his reliance on AI-generated documents during the trial.
The court accepted the victim’s account as credible, acknowledging his visible embarrassment and detailed recollection of the events. Tan’s conduct throughout the trial, including victim-blaming and denial of evidence, demonstrated a lack of remorse.
Tan has filed a notice of appeal against his conviction and sentence and remains out on bail pending the outcome.
This case serves as a stark reminder of the legal consequences of voyeurism and the importance of respecting privacy, even in public spaces.
