Teen caught again for taking 'voyeuristic' photos

Barely two days after he was given a second chance for taking videos up women's skirts, an 18-year-old polytechnic student breached his probation order and committed the same offences.

Yesterday, former Ngee Ann Polytechnic second-year student Clemence Koh Junxiang was sentenced to reformative training, a rehabilitative sentencing option for young offenders.

It is a strict regime of 18 to 30 months that includes structured rehabilitation programmes, foot drills and counselling.

He pleaded guilty to 10 charges of criminal trespass and insulting modesty, and had another 130 counts taken into consideration.

On July 13 last year, Koh was placed on 24 months' probation by Community Court Judge Lim Keng Yeow after he was convicted of six charges of insulting modesty.

But just two days later, he went into a female toilet so he could sneak photographs of women inside cubicles. He preyed on four victims that day.

When he was caught red-handed a month later, a total of 2,744 "voyeuristic pictures'' of 100 to 150 women were found on his iPhone.

The photographs were taken in his school's female toilet and at other locations, such as City Vibe in Commonwealth Avenue West and Daiso at Plaza Singapura.

His offences came to light on Aug 11 last year, when a 17-year-old victim reported to a school employee, after noticing a cellphone in the partition between the cubicles.

Koh had breached a condition of his probation order by having the camera phone, obtained from a friend without his family's knowledge.

Pleading for another chance, Koh asked to be given probation with counselling and therapy.

He said he was able to reflect on his actions while in remand at Changi Prison Complex.

"I came to understand the value of freedom and the importance of not taking things for granted," he said. "I hope to be a faithful son to my parents and a good brother to my younger sister."

Four of his family members were in court yesterday .

However, Judge Lim called Koh's actions "regrettable", saying he had failed to appreciate the chance that he had been given.

For each outrage of modesty charge, Koh could have been jailed up to a year and fined.

This article was first published on February 12, 2016.
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