Probation for NYP student who filmed man in campus toilet
A Nanyang Polytechnic (NYP) student who lost his scholarship after he filmed another man in a campus toilet was yesterday sentenced to 15 months' probation for the offence.
Brandon Mandolang Yong Fu, 18, will need to perform 100 hours of community service, remain indoors from 10pm to 6am, and attend an offence-specific programme to help to manage his sexual urges.
His father, who was in court, will also be bonded for $5,000 to ensure his good behaviour.
Mandolang pleaded guilty in November last year to a count of engaging in insulting behaviour with intent to cause alarm.
He was looking for pornography on his phone in a toilet on campus last May when a fellow student, 18, entered the next cubicle. Mandolang held his phone over the partition to record the victim for one to two minutes using the phone's front-facing camera.
But the victim noticed the phone and Mandolang retracted it. The victim waited for 15 minutes outside the toilet to confront him to no avail, so he lodged a police report that day.
Mandolang, who did not have a lawyer, said yesterday he wished to be placed on probation and given a second chance.
Before handing down the sentence, District Judge Seah Chi-Ling urged Mandolang to take the opportunity to reform.
The probation report found his risk of general re-offending was low, and the judge noted Mandolang was an exemplary student and had a close relationship with his family, which would provide structure for his rehabilitation.
Judge Seah noted Mandolang displayed empathy and insight into the impact of his behaviour, which was not premeditated.
But the report found Mandolang's risk of sexual re-offending was moderate, and the judge urged him to attend the programmes under his probation.
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