Woman confronts man allegedly taking photos of girls' skirts near Haji Lane

A woman confronted a man after she noticed him allegedly taking pictures of her and other girls' skirts near Haji Lane.

The incident was documented in a TikTok a video by user jokaaqi, a 20-year-old student, on Thursday (July 23).

Speaking to AsiaOne, she said the incident took place at a bus stop along North Bridge Road on Wednesday (July 23) at about 1.25pm.

She had been buying food at 7-Eleven when she noticed the man allegedly taking photos of two girls at the bus stop. She claimed that he continued photographing them until they boarded a bus and left.

While waiting for her bus, she later noticed the man pointing his phone camera towards her. A woman, whom jokaaqi identifies as the man's wife, is seen standing next to him. 

"I was taken aback and a bit scared so I just avoided him by moving backward to a corner where he can't take pics of me," she said, adding that he continued pointing his phone towards her.

She subsequently decided to confront the man, who initially denied her allegations.

According to jokaaqi, it was only after she asked to see his photo gallery that he admitted to taking the photos.

"You're taking pictures of the two girls," she said, apparently referring to photos in his gallery, while the man is heard attempting to defend himself. 

She said she also pointed out what appeared to be a zoomed-in image of the girls' skirts in his gallery. However, the man denied any wrongdoing.

"But this is not you," he told her.

According to her TikTok caption, the man's wife "just sighed" before asking her husband to delete the photos. The man eventually complied.  

"He asked for it," jokaaqi wrote, adding that she also asked the man to clear his recently deleted folder after ending the video.

She told AsiaOne that she was initially afraid to step up and confront the man but ultimately decided to do so in hopes that he would not target other girls.

She added that she hopes her video will encourage others in similar situations to "be brave" and take action.

The TikTok video has since garnered almost 30,000 views, with some netizens lamenting that such instances have become more common lately.

"So many cases of guys taking pictures of girls recently," one wrote.

Others said that the man should have been reported to the police, while some questioned the wife's reaction and apparent acceptance of her husband's actions.

@asiaone Sharing her experience with AsiaOne, TikTok user jokaaqi said she hoped to raise public awareness on such incidents, as a number of similar incidents have been reported recently. This was what happened. [Admin's note] A victim's dressing is immaterial to any act of voyeurism. Voyeurism is a criminal offence in Singapore. #sgnews #Singapore #Safety ♬ original sound - AsiaOne

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dana.leong@asiaone.com