Tutor jailed for taking upskirt videos of nearly 60 women

A 34-year-old part-time tutor was yesterday jailed for 24 weeks, or six months, for taking upskirt videos of nearly 60 women.

Nantha Kumar Palakrishnan would put his iPhone 4, with its camera facing up, in his laptop bag on top of some books.

With the camera in recording mode, he would then surreptitiously arrange the half-closed bag on the floor behind unsuspecting women.

After watching upskirt videos on the Internet, Nantha took his first upskirt video in June 2013.

He then went on a spree between July and August that year, targeting women in shops such as Popular bookstore and FairPrice outlets near Toa Payoh and Yishun MRT stations.

Nantha was finally caught on Aug 26 that year in a Daiso outlet at Plaza Singapura, when the male colleague of one of his victims, a 34-year-old bank employee, spotted him placing the bag behind her and adjusting it.

The 28-year-old colleague grabbed the bag and demanded to know what he was doing. Nantha immediately apologised to him, but the man opened the bag and discovered the phone inside in recording mode.

Police were called by the mall's security staff. On checking the phone, they discovered upskirt footage of several women, including the victim.

In a raid conducted the next day on Nantha's Yishun flat, the police seized a laptop that was also full of upskirt footage.

He was charged with 59 counts of insulting the modesty of the women he filmed. Eight of the charges were proceeded with.

District Judge Adam Nakhoda said there were "multiple aggravating factors", as the accused had committed many offences within the span of a month.

He added that the accused's deeds involved an amount of planning and premeditation, and that he was aware his actions were wrong.

For each charge, Nantha could have been jailed for up to one year, fined, or both.

oliviaho@sph.com.sg

This article was first published on May 23, 2015.
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