The State Courts / photo: Terry Xu

A former ex-SCDF officer pleaded guilty in court to two counts of insulting modesty on 3 May.
Poh Siok Peng, then a major, was caught on 9 March 2016 after he had made many up-skirt videos of a colleague. The victim suspected his behavior and placed a hidden camera near her cubicle and caught him.
In the court it was heard that Poh, 45, married with two children, in January and February 2016 had often visited the victim at her desk and chatted. She noticed he was always fidgeting with his cellphone.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Chee Ee Ling said, “He would sit in front of her in an awkward position – constantly looking and bending down while chatting with her as though reaching out for something under her desk.”
“He would always sit in front of her and didn’t stand next to her desk like other colleagues, especially when she was wearing a dress or skirt to work.”
On one occasion, she saw a light flash from under her desk and suspected he was taking upskirt photographs of her. She then set a hidden camera and after confirming her suspicion with the footage resulted from it, on 3 March she informed her superior and they carried out a ‘sting’ operation.
Poh’s phone was seized. Two upskirt videos of her, dated on 4 and 9 March last year, were taken as evidence.
DPP Chee sought a sentence of at least six weeks for each charge, reasoning that Poh had abused the victim’s trust in him and pointing out the aggravated nature of the intrusion to the victim’s privacy.
DPP Chee said Poh could not remember exactly how many videos he had taken of the victim. He had done it for two years and he had sold his previous mobile phones which had been used to capture the upskirt videos
Poh’s lawyer Tan Hee Joek in his mitigation plea explained that Poh had been molested several times as a teenager and it has caused flashbacks whenever he was stressed.
Tan said, “As he was ashamed to relate to anyone of these unhappy incidents, he ended up taking upskirt videos to relieve himself.”
“He would view the upskirt videos in the wee hours of the night to relieve stress,” Tan said. He also said Poh’s guilty plea shows his regret and ‘deepest remorse’. And, Poh has sought professional help after he was caught, he added.
Tan also explained that since leaving the SCDF in May last year, Poh has been working in telesales and administration, with salary of $1,800 a month, only about 20 percent of his income in SCDF.
District Judge Kessler Soh adjourned sentencing to 17 May.
For insulting modesty, Poh can be sentenced to jail up to one year and/or fined on each charge.

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