S'pore ex-teacher jailed 5 months for filming 53 videos of men in changing rooms

A former teacher has been jailed for filming other men in changing rooms across Singapore without their consent between 2010 and 2022.

Woo Weng Chuan, 51, was caught by a member of the public while taking videos of men showering in the public shower area at the MacRitchie Reservoir amphitheatre toilet on Jun. 1, 2022.

After the police detained him based on the witness' report, they raided Woo's home and found many similar videos in his electronic devices.

They included 128 "obscene films" and 32 recordings of fully or partially naked unknown male individuals, according to charge sheets.

The court heard his case on Aug. 26, and sentenced him to jail for five months and five weeks starting from Sep. 23, 2025.

How he got caught

On Jun. 1, 2022, Woo was at MacRitchie Reservoir with some students, the court heard.

A teacher at the time, he was in charge of his school's track and field club, which was training at the reservoir amphitheatre that day.

Woo's typical responsibilities during training sessions were to watch over the students' belongings, and manage the beginning and end of the sessions.

While the students went on with their training, Woo noticed several men showering at the open shower area.

He walked around the area a few times filming them with his phone.

A jogger who had just come out of the shower spotted Woo and called the police.

The victims recorded in the videos did not include the students, according to CNA.

According to the charge sheets, it was not the first time Woo had filmed men in that shower area at MacRitchie Reservoir.

The police subsequently found that he had done so on nine occasions between Jan. 3, 2022, and Jun. 1, 2022.

More videos discovered

Woo was also charged for filming men he did not know fully or who were partially naked in the locker room of the now-closed California Fitness Gym outlet in Novena, and in the changing and shower area of Keybox Sauna.

The charge sheets indicated that the police found in his devices 30 such videos taken at the gym between Dec. 23, 2010 and Jun. 17, 2011, and 10 at the sauna between Apr. 14, 2022, and May 30, 2022.

Another 13 videos filmed at the same gym on Feb. 22, 2014, were also found on his Google Drive.

Woo confessed that whenever he came across men he found attractive in changing rooms or shower areas, he would feel an urge to film them with his phone.

He added that he viewed the videos for his own pleasure, and did not share the videos with anyone else.

He said he had uploaded the videos to his Google Drive because his phone had insufficient storage.

Sentencing

Woo pleaded guilty to three charges, including voyeurism and making obscene films, while three other charges were taken into consideration by the court, CNA reported.

The prosecution called for 27 to 31 weeks' jail, whereas Woo's lawyer requested 22 to 25 weeks.

The prosecution argued that the nature of obscenity was "significant" as "a considerable number" of the videos captured the private parts of the victims.

The defence, however, pointed out that Woo confessed to his crimes and cooperated with the investigation, Shin Min Daily News reported.

Woo's lawyer said Woo had been secretly taking photos of men since 2005, and has no friends to confide in about his struggles with his sexuality.

The lawyer added that Woo is currently receiving treatment and working hard to avoid reoffending.

As Woo had recently undergone surgery for retinal detachment, and requires follow-up checks in early September, the court allowed him to start serving his sentence from Sep. 23.

Top images from Shin Min Daily News and Canva