SINGAPORE: A man bought a pair of spectacles with a pinhole camera and video-recording function in order to record his female housemates showering.
However, he was caught when one of them noticed the pair of glasses with a blinking red light.
Zhang Haibo, 29, was sentenced on Friday (Oct 14) to 15 weeks’ jail.
He pleaded guilty to two charges of voyeurism and possessing a voyeuristic recording, with a third charge considered in sentencing.
The court heard that Zhang stayed in a residence with other fellow China nationals.
Around end-August 2021, he wanted to make recordings in the common toilet, so he searched online for a “spy camera”.
He bought a recording device disguised as a pair of black spectacles for S$40. The glasses had a pinhole camera in them, with a video-recording function that could store footage in a memory card embedded in the spectacles.
On Aug 27, 2021, Zhang placed the spectacles on a metal rack above the sink of the common toilet, positioning the camera towards the shower area.
He intended to record the female tenants using the shower.
At about 1pm the next day, a 35-year-old woman entered the toilet, undressed and began to shower. As she was showering, she noticed the glasses on the metal rack.
She was suspicious as she had not seen them there before. She examined the glasses and realised there was a blinking red light emitting from the glasses.
She told her landlord about the spectacles, and all the tenants were questioned about the device. Zhang did not admit to his offence at first.
The woman was worried there were other videos recorded, so she made a police report along with a fellow female tenant. Zhang was arrested that same day.
Several devices were seized from Zhang, and a video of a woman’s buttocks recorded with Zhang’s phone was found in his laptop.
The prosecution asked for 15 to 18 weeks’ jail, acknowledging Zhang’s lack of prior convictions and early plea of guilt.