PUBLISHED ONJune 27, 2023 2:36 AMByYeo Shu HuiWhen you urgently need to use the loo, do you look around for "weirdos" or hidden cameras in the cubicle first?
For a few local male celebrities, they said that sometimes it is "hard to prevent" from being filmed in the public toilet.
The Chinese daily recently spoke to four actors about using public toilets after it was reported that a calefare (film set extra) was sentenced to two weeks of jail for secretly taking a photograph of an actor using the urinal in the Mediacorp campus toilet.
The perpetrator also sent the photograph to two of his WhatsApp group chats, asking if the members want to see the actor's genitals.
The actor, whose identity is protected by a gag order, lodged a police report after one of the recipients sent an Instagram message to inform him of the intrusion.
The actor wrote in the police report that he was "extremely traumatised" and felt "so violated" that such a photograph was taken of him and shared with others.
For Zheng Geping, he said that although he has not faced such situations before, he acknowledged that it is hard to prevent from being filmed, especially when using the urinal.
The 59-year-old said: "I really need to relieve myself and that's why I am in the toilet. Who cares when you are urgent. I will not really take note of whether there is anyone secretly filming me, and I will not think that someone is filming me."
Shane Pow, 32, shared similar sentiments as well.
He said: "I will not think so much when I am in the toilet. Men are like this, because what you have I also have! So I wouldn't think too much. When we are in the army, everyone uses the toilet together!"
For more privacy, some actors choose to use the cubicles instead.
[[nid:636237]]
Ian Fang, 33, told the Chinese daily: "I have a habit of using the cubicle as there is more privacy. If there is a need to use the urinal, I would try to distance myself from others and do it quickly."
Likewise for Shaun Chen, 44, who said that he became more cautious when using the public toilet after becoming an actor.
"I used to be a kampung (village) boy, and wouldn't care too much about where to relieve myself when I was young. After becoming an actor, I would try to use the cubicle and take note of whether there is anyone secretly filming from the top or bottom of the cubicle.
"In Singapore, I feel that Singaporean men have been in the army before and using the urinal is common. If there is a weirdo, I would avoid him," said Shaun.
Shane shared that he had an awkward experience with a stranger chatting with him while he was using the urinal.
He said: "He asked if I have been filming recently and it would be awkward if I don't reply to him, but I am not finished yet. You can avoid this by using the toilet cubicle."
Although the actors have not been filmed in the toilet before, some of them have been peeped at by others while using the urinal.
Geping shared about his experience: "Once I realised it, I stared at the person and he hurriedly walked away. Maybe it is because I looked fierce!"
[[nid:636182]]
He added that he will be more cautious about people using their handphones in the toilets and would take note of whether their phone camera is pointed at him.
Shaun, who has similar experience, said: "What I have, he also has. I just stared at him from the corner of my eye, to convey the meaning of 'see what see', and the person did not dare to do it anymore."
As for Ian, he said that being a celebrity for years has helped him develop a "radar", which can "detect" if there is anybody suspicious nearby or looking at him strangely. If he noticed someone filming him in the toilet, he would confront the person directly.
"This is the accumulation of experience. Every artist has this hunch and would know when they should be careful," said Ian.
ALSO READ: 5566's Zax Wang and wife Ji Qin attend son's graduation, netizens say family 'looks like siblings'
