A secondary school teacher in Singapore, Wang Xianglin, 36, has been sentenced to seven months in jail after being found guilty of recording voyeuristic videos of two female colleagues. Wang, who was a physical education (PE) teacher, secretly placed a recording device under a pregnant colleague’s desk to capture upskirt videos. Additionally, he recorded another colleague expressing breast milk in the school’s nursing room. The incidents occurred between November 2021 and February 2022, and Wang admitted to committing these acts for his personal gratification.
Background
Wang’s actions came to light when his pregnant colleague discovered a power bank with a camera function taped under her desk. She reported the device to school authorities, leading to a police investigation. Forensic examination revealed 17 minutes of upskirt footage, including a clear image of the victim’s face. Further investigation uncovered 13 images of another female colleague, taken while she was expressing breast milk in the school’s nursing room. Wang admitted to using the same device on three separate occasions in November 2021.
The power bank
Wang purchased the power bank with a camera function at the end of 2021. In February 2022, while performing exam committee duties, he noticed his first victim’s dress was “quite short.” Seizing the opportunity, he placed the power bank under her desk in the staff room, securing it with duct tape. He then left to teach a class, leaving the device to record.
Getting caught
The pregnant colleague discovered the device later that day when she felt an unfamiliar object under her desk. She reported it to the school authorities, leading to a forensic examination that revealed 17 minutes of upskirt footage. The victim, who was in her third trimester, expressed feelings of trauma and stress in her statement to the police. She also mentioned becoming wary of finding objects under her desk and of her male colleagues.
More media discovered
The police seized Wang’s mobile phone for forensic examination, uncovering 13 images of another female colleague expressing breast milk in the school’s nursing room. Wang admitted to recording these images across three separate occasions in November 2021, using a green plastic bag to conceal the device. Although the videos were not recovered, Wang confessed to viewing them for his “own personal viewing pleasure” and admitted to taking the videos without the victim’s consent.
‘Deviant fantasies’
Deputy Public Prosecutor Tay Jia En countered the defence’s claim that Wang suffered from a voyeuristic disorder. Tay argued that Wang had ample opportunity to discuss his voyeuristic tendencies with his Institute of Mental Health psychiatrist but chose to focus on other stressors, such as his wife’s pregnancy and the birth of his daughter. The prosecutor highlighted that Wang preyed on his unsuspecting colleagues to satisfy his “deviant sexual fantasies” and admitted to masturbating to the voyeuristic photos of the second victim.
Ministry of Education’s response
In response to queries, the Ministry of Education (MOE) stated that Wang had been suspended from duty since February 2022 and is no longer teaching in any school. “MOE takes a serious view of staff misconduct and will not hesitate to take disciplinary action against those who fail to adhere to our standards of conduct and discipline, including dismissal from service,” the ministry said. MOE has commenced internal disciplinary proceedings on the case.
