NUS undergrad jailed and fined for filming women showering on campus
Architecture undergraduate also fined $1,500 for filming four students in toilets on female-only floors
When he was an intern in 2016, he filmed upskirt videos of a female colleague at work and two other women near Tanjong Pagar MRT station.
Joel Rasis Ismail was not caught and the architecture student became more brazen while he lived on campus.
Between March and May last year, the National University of Singapore (NUS) undergraduate filmed four female students showering in toilets on female-only floors at a residential hall.
Yesterday, he was jailed for 12 weeks and fined $1,500.
Joel, now 27, earlier pleaded guilty to three counts of insulting a woman's modesty and one count of criminal trespass.
Another seven similar charges were considered by District Judge Adam Nakhoda during sentencing.
The judge agreed with Deputy Public Prosecutor Andre Ong that the rehabilitative factors in the case were insufficient to trump the need for general and specific deterrence.
He noted that when Joel filmed the students showering, he was well aware of the public disquiet that arose over a similar Peeping Tom incident that made headlines at the time.
Fellow NUS student Monica Baey had shared her frustration over her experience of being filmed while showering in another residential hall in 2018, sparking uproar and debate.
Rejecting defence counsel Malcolm Tan's arguments for community-based sentences, Judge Nakhoda said Joel's acts were purposeful and deliberate and he was not suffering from any psychiatric disorders.
Mr Tan said his client had committed the 2019 offences in a misguided attempt to boost his flagging libido, but the judge said this reason was unacceptable.
Judge Nakhoda also noted the high degree of intrusion, which was compounded by the fact that the victims were showering in female-only toilets on female-only floors, where they were entitled to feel safe.
He also disagreed with Mr Tan's point that Joel might have thrown away a potentially bright future, saying that this was irrelevant.
However, the judge accepted that Joel was remorseful, had his family's support and had a low risk of reoffending.
Joel, a fifth-year student, lived at Kuok Foundation House within NUS' Raffles Hall.
In March last year, he visited a friend who stayed on a female-only floor at the hall.
He went to the toilet to relieve himself, heard someone showering and decided to film her.
He did this to two other students before he was caught red-handed after he had filmed a fourth student in May.
To evade detection, Joel had changed clothes. He also initially denied any wrongdoing but later admitted to his crimes.
An NUS spokesman said Joel is still under suspension. A board of discipline convened earlier imposed a range of sanctions on him, including a three-semester suspension, mandatory counselling and rehabilitation sessions. The sanctions will be part of his educational record, and he is not allowed on campus.
In addition, NUS said it would look into whether Joel had committed any other offences and may convene another board of discipline if new information comes to light.
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