Northpoint City removes CCTV camera inside diaper-changing room after woman raises privacy concerns

*Editor's note: This article has been updated to better show the feeding area is a separate, enclosed space from the diaper-changing room*

On Sep. 20, a woman changing the diaper of her three-year-old child in the diaper-changing room of Northpoint City was shocked to realise a CCTV camera was installed inside the room.

The feeding area, separated from the diaper-changing area by a sliding door, was also within the CCTV monitoring angle whenever the door opened, the woman, who wanted to be known only as "A", told Mothership.

Concerned about a possible privacy violation, A wrote to Frasers Property, which owns and manages Northpoint City, requesting an investigation and explanation of why a camera was placed there.

In response to Mothership queries, a spokesperson for Northpoint City said that "the camera was installed some time ago as a precautionary measure to deter unauthorised access and use", and has now been removed.

The camera

In her email to Frasers, A included photos she took of the CCTV camera in the diaper-changing room.

In these photos, which she also shared with Mothership, a camera can be seen in the corner of the diaper-changing area, beside the entrance.

The following photo was taken from inside the feeding area, where the same CCTV camera can also be seen when the sliding door was open.

A questioned why cameras are installed "in sensitive facilities where children's and mothers' privacy is at stake".

"Installing a CCTV camera in such a space is highly inappropriate," she said. "This situation is comparable to placing a camera in an adult toilet."

Northpoint City's response

The Northpoint City spokesperson told Mothership that it understands and acknowledges the concerns raised by A.

The camera in question was "carefully positioned and partially masked to ensure the diaper changing stations were not within its view", they said.

"We would like to reassure the public that no private areas were captured, and access to footage has always been strictly limited to authorised purposes," the spokesperson said, adding that the feeding area is a separate, enclosed space that "has never been under surveillance".

In Frasers' email reply to A., also seen by Mothership, the company similarly explained that the camera was a safety measure, and for privacy reasons, only authorised personnel had access to footage "for the purpose of carrying out investigations when required".

This setup was specific to Northpoint City and not in place across other malls managed by Frasers, the Northpoint City spokesperson told Mothership.

Following a recent review, Northpoint City determined that the camera inside the diaper-changing area is "no longer necessary" and have since removed it.

Another camera outside the room and monitoring its entrance remains.

"We remain committed to providing a safe, respectful, and comfortable environment for all our visitors," the spokesperson added.

Top images from A and Northpoint City's Facebook