PUBLISHED ONApril 08, 2025 10:25 AMByLiv Hana RobertsA 20-year-old man pleaded guilty to three counts of voyeurism on Monday (April 7) after he was caught taking upskirt photos and a video of a woman in Paya Lebar MRT station.
On Sept 24, 2024, a 29-year-old Korean woman felt something hitting her calf while on an escalator out of the station.
Suspicious of his intentions, the victim asked to check Benjamin Kow's phone and found an upskirt video and multiple blurry upskirt photos, Shin Min Daily News reported.
When she called the police, Kow grabbed his phone and attempted to flee, pushing the victim and causing injuries to her elbow and ankles.
Hearing calls for help, a male passerby got onto a bicycle, chased after the accused and stopped him.
The report said that Kow attempted to delete video evidence while waiting for the police to arrive.
Investigations revealed that Kow had prior instances of committing voyeurism, where he took upskirt photos of two other women at Dakota MRT station on separate occasions.
No reports were filed at the time as the victims were not aware of his actions.
Kow will be sentenced on June 16.
According to the Annual Crime Brief 2024 released in February 2025, voyeurism cases "increased by 9 per cent to 519 cases in 2024 from 476 cases in 2023".
The police added that "public transport networks" were among the top three locations where voyeurism was most commonly reported, with "69 cases reported in 2024, compared to 56 in 2023".
They said they have been addressing the growing issue through advisory messages on floor decals at selected MRT stations and broadcasting anti-voyeurism messages at all MRT stations during peak hours.
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