SINGAPORE: A 68-year-old was sentenced to 10 months’ jail on July 16 after pleading guilty to two counts of voyeurism.
According to The Straits Times, Daniel Poon Lee had installed eight spy cameras throughout his apartment that recorded and live-streamed videos of his female tenant, a 29-year-old Malaysian woman, on his phone for sexual gratification.
The victim, who cannot be named due to a gag order, moved into the apartment in January 2019, taking the common room while Poon and his wife used the master bedroom.
Prior to the discovery of his crimes, he had been entering the victim’s room at least once a month using his master key, later claiming he had performed chores like changing light bulbs or cleaning despite the victim being uncomfortable.
Between April 2020 and January 2021, he ordered and installed the cameras, placing two in the victim’s room, one inside the shower’s water heater, three in the living room, one in the kitchen, and another in his own bedroom, all connected to his phone for live viewing through a mobile application.
On April 21, 2021, the victim discovered a small hole with a red light in her room wall, prompting her to alert her boyfriend, who confirmed it was a camera with a USB connection and notified the police.
Deputy public prosecutor Ng Jun Chong said Poon recorded multiple videos of the victim using the toilet or changing in her room between December 2020 and April 2021, storing at least 49 images from these recordings on his desktop computer.
He said the man’s degree of planning and premeditation was extremely high, as he had hidden the cameras so well that even someone intentionally looking for them struggled to find them.
Police statistics show a 12% increase in voyeurism cases from 2022 to 2023 in Singapore, with 476 cases reported last year with top locations for such incidents were residential premises, shopping complexes, and even public transport.
