On Sept. 21, Facebook user Alex uploaded a video to Facebook showing a drone flying between flats at the Treelodge estate in Punggol, while two women -- Lee's wife and sister according to the video's caption -- were heard in the background speculating that the drone is being used for perverse purposes.

It is not clear in the video which of the voices belonged to Lee's wife and sister given that it is trained on the drone entire time.

Here is Lee's caption in full:

"Friends who are staying in Punggol, please take note of this "seems to be pervert". This is taken at Treelodge (my sis house area). Seems like this is flying to room and toilet area to peep. My wife and sis are in conversation in this video but they are unable to locate the person who is controlling this gadget.

Can the MP for this area Janil Puthucheary do something about this?"

What did the women say?

Initially in the video, when the drone was seen hovering in front of a block with several flats displaying the Singapore flag, a woman can be heard speaking in Chinese about how the drone is likely to be operated by somebody filming people showering and changing.

Subsequently, the drone flew over to another block on the right where it spent several seconds hovering outside the block's small windows.

The woman surmised that the drone was operated by a pervert since the small windows are toilet windows.

Eventually, as the drone flies off in another direction, she wonders if the operator knows that they are filming him.

A second woman can be heard asking where the operator is in Chinese, with the first woman guessing that he's downstairs.

What does the law state?

Here are some key points to note about the laws regarding the space in which drones are permitted to fly, according to the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS):

• They must be flown outside of restricted, danger, protected and prohibited areas
• They cannot be flown within five kilometres of an aerodrome or airbase (e.g within five kilometres of any military or civilian airport)
• They cannot be flown more than 200 feet (61 metres) above sea level
• In the event that the operation of a drone (e.g. aerial photo for personal collection) exceeds any of the above conditions, it is necessary to apply for a Class 2 Activity Permit

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And here are the zones, according to CAAS, on where drone flying might require a Class 2 Activity permit. Note that Punggol falls under the category of "within five kilometres of an aerodrome/airbase".

Source: CAAS

With regard to the issue of privacy, The Straits Time reported that in 2015, at the the time of the introduction of laws on drones, then Transport Minister Lui Tuck Yew had stated that enforcement of privacy would be taken under the Penal Code and Protection from Harassment Act 2014

Here is the video put up by Alex Lee in full:

[video width="480" height="848" mp4="https://static.mothership.sg/1/2018/09/drone-video.mp4"][/video]

Other things you cannot do with drones:

Top image collage from Alex Lee Facebook.