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SINGAPORE: A student at the National University of Singapore (NUS) took videos under the skirts of a colleague at the place where he did an internship, before trespassing into the NUS hall bathrooms to film the women showering .
When one of the victims caught him on the spot, he fled and changed his clothes, but was eventually arrested by the police.
Joel Rasis Ismail pleaded guilty on Friday (September 11) to three counts of insulting a woman’s modesty and one count of breaking and entering, with seven other counts being considered for sentencing.
The 27-year-old is currently serving a three-semester suspension for NUS and is not allowed on campus.
Despite media reporting on the NUS peeping Tom incident in 2018 involving Ms Monica Baey around the same time, Joel committed the crimes in March and May last year, the prosecutor said.
BEGAN FILMING WOMEN IN THE PRACTICE WORKPLACE
The court heard that Joel was between 23 and 26 years old at the time of the crimes between 2016 and 2019, and is now a suspended fifth-year student at NUS.
At the time of the crimes, he was standing in a hallway at NUS. The first charges occurred in June 2016, when Joel was interning with an unidentified company.
He recorded two videos under a colleague’s skirt while talking to someone else, leaning in to listen to the conversation.
Joel began targeting women staying on the NUS campus in March 2019. She visited a friend in her hallway, despite knowing that the flat was a female-only area.
He illegally entered a stall in a ladies’ restroom to relieve himself when he heard a woman enter an adjacent shower stall.
When he heard the sound of running water, he placed his phone in the space between the cubicle partition and the bathroom floor, and filmed the woman bathing.
He later left his cubicle undetected and kept the video for a few days, rewatching it “for his pleasure and to increase his libido,” Assistant District Attorney Andre Ong said.
He admitted that watching the clip again turned him on. He later deleted the clip.
When he committed this crime, he knew that there had been a similar peeping-eye incident in the Eusoff room at NUS in 2018. The case, involving Ms Monica Baey, was reported at the time of her crime and later led to widespread reforms in sexual matters. Cases of misconduct in universities.
NABBED RED HANDS
Joel relapsed a few months later, on May 11, 2019, entering the hall through a door that was left ajar. He went to visit a friend and wash his clothes despite knowing that women were not allowed in the flat.
He couldn’t find his friend and went to the laundry room to get his clothes before hearing the sound of running water from the women’s bathroom.
He recorded a video of a woman bathing naked out of “excitement” and “adrenaline,” the prosecutor said, and left the bathroom to “review” her recording.
When he found out he was unsuccessful, he went back into the bathroom and grabbed another clip. The woman heard a “dragging” sound and turned to see Joel’s phone under the cubicle door.
She immediately screamed “who are you?” to him and opened the door in time to see Joel’s back. She fled to a staircase, and the woman dressed before telling the room manager what had happened.
Joel fled the scene, recovering his dirty clothes and changing clothes to evade detection and deleting the clip he had recorded.
However, closed-circuit television cameras around the hallway captured him entering the women’s bathroom, fleeing, changing his clothes, and hurrying away.
He was arrested a few hours later and was initially denied any wrongdoing. A psychiatrist at the Institute of Mental Health classified Joel’s mental condition at the time as a “transient voyeuristic sexual interest.”
However, he discovered that Joel did not have a psychiatric disorder, paraphilic disorder or voyeuristic disorder at the time of the crimes.
PRAYERS ASKING BOTH SIDES
Assistant District Attorney Andre Ong asked for at least 12 weeks in jail and a fine of S $ 1,500, saying that Joel had committed the crimes in 2019 despite the Monica Baey incident that had caused public concern.
He said Joel’s actions had increased in severity, from shooting upskirt clips in public places to filming videos of women in a hallway shower.
Instead, the defense asked for a short arrest warrant and a community service order, or 10 weeks in jail if not granted.
He said Joel is “genuinely sorry” and cooperative with police, and has previously been seen for depression and insomnia.
He was “triggered” by the Eusoff Hall incident and wants to say “he’s not a pervert,” the lawyer said.
He said that Joel is a “promising architect” and has lost “almost everything”, with his family having to pay back his scholarship money and with Joel unable to return to the living room, which was “his home for many years.”
He will return to court for mitigation and sentencing on September 28.
DISCIPLINE BOARD CALLED BY NUS FOR THE CASE
In response to CNA inquiries, a NUS spokesperson said a disciplinary board was convened in June 2019 to investigate Joel’s voyeurism.
The board imposed disciplinary sanctions on Joel, including suspension for three semesters, mandatory counseling sessions and rehabilitation. The penalties will be part of his formal education record at NUS, and Joel is currently serving suspension and is not allowed on campus.
“In addition, the NUS will investigate if there are other offenses that Joel has committed that have not been disclosed by him to the university,” said the spokesperson, adding that another disciplinary board could be convened if new information about other possible crimes arises from the court proceedings.
“The NUS has improved the disciplinary framework for crimes of sexual misconduct since June 2019, including suspension and expulsion, as well as security measures. It is also providing greater support to victims through the Care Unit to Victims and has introduced training for all staff and students to build a culture of respect, “said the spokesman, who said the university takes” a firm position against sexual misconduct. “
“Students who have violated NUS statutes and regulations face severe penalties, including suspension and expulsion,” he said.
For each count of insulting a woman’s modesty, Joel can be jailed for up to one year and fined.
For breaking and entering, you can be jailed for up to three months, fined up to S $ 500, or both.
