[ad_1]
SINGAPORE: A suspended student from the National University of Singapore (NUS) was jailed for 12 weeks and fined S $ 1,500 on Tuesday (October 20) for filming women showering in the university hall toilets and for taking videos under the skirts of an internship colleague.
Joel Rasis Ismail, 27, had committed the crimes despite being aware of a similar incident in 2018 at NUS’s Eusoff Hall involving Ms Monica Baey, which later led to reforms in sexual misconduct cases in universities.
Joel had pleaded guilty last month to three counts of insulting a woman’s modesty and one count of trespassing, with seven other counts being considered for sentencing.
He is currently serving a three-semester suspension for NUS and is not allowed on campus.
Explaining his sentencing decision Tuesday, District Judge Adam Nakhoda said Joel had committed two different kinds of offenses of insulting modesty: first in 2016 when he filmed two videos under the skirts of his internship colleague and recording others. women showering on campus in 2019.
She agreed with prosecutors that Joel’s criminal behavior had escalated, from filming videos under skirts to trespassing into women’s bathrooms in women’s-only flats at NUS to film four victims showering. In total, there are seven female victims.
There was a high degree of intrusion in shower offenses, where victims were naked and had the right to feel safe to carry out their daily activities, the judge said.
He noted that there was no evidence that Joel suffered from depression during the first series of crimes in 2016, and that Joel also did not suffer from any psychiatric disorders during the 2019 crimes. Instead, it was “determined and deliberate.”
The judge said the defense attorney had asked him to consider that, as a result of his conviction, Joel “may have wasted a potentially bright future.”
“With all due respect, I do not agree,” the judge said, adding that this was not relevant.
However, he accepted that Joel had sought psychiatric assistance but said that these factors were insufficient to overcome the need for general deterrence as well as Joel’s specific deterrence.
LEE: NUS student accused of filming a roommate in the shower changed clothes to avoid being identified
NUS previously said that a disciplinary board had been convened in June 2019 to investigate the case and imposed sanctions on Joel, including a three-semester suspension, mandatory counseling sessions and rehabilitation.
These penalties will be part of your formal education record at NUS and you are currently 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.
NUS had also improved its disciplinary framework for crimes of sexual misconduct since June 2019, including suspension and expulsion, as well as security measures. It has also provided “greater support to victims through the Victims Attention Unit, and has introduced training for all staff and students to build a culture of respect,” the spokesperson said.
For each count of insulting a woman’s modesty, Joel could have been jailed for up to a year and fined. For breaking and entering, he could have been jailed for up to three months, fined up to S $ 500, or both.
