Man with special needs takes upskirt photos of girl, 5, at Buangkok mall

On Oct. 22, 2023, a man and his brother brought their children, including his five-year-old niece, to the outdoor playground of Sengkang Grand Mall to play.

While the children were at the Buangkok mall's playground slides, the girl's uncle noticed a man taking photos of them with his phone before zooming in on his camera.

The uncle subsequently confronted the man and found upskirt photos in his phone of young girls coming down the slides.

The man was subsequently arrested, and investigations revealed that his phone contained 154 similar photos of 20 unknown victims, all of whom were below 14 years old.

According to court documents seen by Mothership, the man, Tan Yang Jack, 22, admitted that he had taken the photos "for the purpose of sexually arousing himself".

Tan, who was diagnosed to be on the autism spectrum, was on Jan. 7, 2025 handed a mandatory treatment order for his offences.

Seen running to slide to take closer shots of girl

Court documents revealed that the incident took place at around 5:15pm on Oct. 22, 2023.

At the time, a witness saw Tan, then 21 years old, running over to the front of a slide to take photos of the five-year-old girl sliding down.

The witness, who also brought his children to the playground, subsequently spoke to the girl's uncle about Tan's deeds.

Meanwhile, Tan went to a nearby pillar to review the photos he had taken.

Confronted by girl's uncle

When Tan returned to the playground, the girl's uncle confronted him and asked to see his phone.

In response, Tan said he would "delete the photos he had taken" and did something with his phone before eventually handing it to the girl's uncle.

While the girl's photos had been deleted from Tan's phone, her uncle found photos of other young girls in which their undergarments were visible.

Arrested by police

At around 7:28pm, police officers arrested Tan and seized his phone for investigations.

Court documents did not state who alerted the police.

Tan admitted to taking four photos at the playground, which captured two victims coming down the slides and their undergarments.

Besides the five-year-old girl, the other victim was also younger than 14 years old when Tan committed the offence.

During investigations, Tan said he would usually "try to take photos of panties of young girls around the age of five years old" and store them in a private safe on his phone.

Although he admitted taking the photos for sexual purposes, he denied pleasuring himself to them.

Pleaded guilty

On Jan. 7, 2025, the court handed Tan a six-month mandatory treatment order after he pleaded guilty to two charges of voyeurism involving a minor below 14 years old, reported Shin Min Daily News.

Another charge for possessing images of victims obtained through voyeurism was taken into consideration for his sentencing.

According to the prosecution, two doctors at the Institute of Mental Health (IMH) had opined in a report that Tan's condition was contributory to his offending behaviours.

Helplines

If you or someone you know are in mental distress, here are some hotlines you can call to seek help, advice, or just a listening ear:

SOS 24-hour Hotline: 1-767

Singapore Association for Mental Health: 1800-283-7019

Institute of Mental Health: 6389-2222 (24 hours)

Tinkle Friend: 1800-274-4788 (for primary school-aged children)

SHECARES@SCWO: Call: 8001-01-4616 | Whatsapp: 65714400 (for targets of online harms)

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