S’porean ex-lawyer, 29, gets 4 weeks’ jail for taking upskirt video at Woodleigh MRT station

A 29-year-old Singaporean man was sentenced to four weeks’ jail after modifying a bag with a hole at the bottom and using it to film upskirt videos.

Ye Yixu Samuel pleaded guilty to one charge of voyeurism and was sentenced on Jul. 23.

According to CNA, Ye was a former lawyer.

Woodleigh

In court documents seen by Mothership, in April 2024 at Woodleigh MRT station, Ye set his mobile phone to enable video recording and placed it at the bottom of a black bag he obtained from a wine store.

The bag had a hole at its base.

He positioned the phone such that its camera faced outwards.

Ye kept a lookout for women with knee-length or short skirts so he could take upskirt videos of them.

He then spotted an unknown woman wearing a short skirt and tailed her while he was holding the bag with the phone in it.

When she stepped onto an escalator travelling upwards, Ye followed suit and stood behind her.

Ye held the bag in a way that allowed him to capture an upskirt video of the woman.

When both of them reached the upper floor, he stopped the video recording.

Ye then viewed the footage before deleting it.

Modus operandi

From April 2024 to early May 2024, Ye adopted a similar modus operandi in taking upskirt videos of multiple women at the MRT station at least once a week.

He would purchase wine from a wine store to obtain the black bag.

Ye would then puncture a hole in the bag to conceal his phone and facilitate his actions.

He would then keep a lookout for women wearing short skirts passing by the area before following them if he deemed them suitable targets.

The phone would be in video-recording mode beforehand and placed in the bag with its camera facing upwards.

Ye would then follow the unknown females up the escalator while taking upskirt videos of them.

After taking a sufficiently long recording, he would stop the recording and return to the same area to wait for his next victim.

After being satisfied that there were no further potential victims, Ye would leave for work.

Occasionally, when Ye arrived at Raffles Place MRT station for work, he would repeat the same process of identifying, tailing and taking upskirt videos of unknown victims while standing behind them on the ascending escalator, before heading to the office.

After viewing the upskirt videos, Ye would then delete them.

He would also dispose of the black bag he used.

Arrest

On Jun. 7, 2024, the police received an anonymous i-Witness report that Ye used his phone to take upskirt videos at an MRT station in April 2024.

Ye was subsequently arrested on Jun. 14 and was remanded.

He was released on bail on Jun. 15.

Disorder

The prosecution sought a two to three months’ jail sentence for Ye.

They argued that “there was some degree of premeditation to his offending” and he “was clearly goal-oriented” in targeting his victims.

The prosecution cited his modus operandi and alleged he was “plainly lingering around for no conceivable reason other than finding victims”.

The prosecution also said he had taken upskirt videos on multiple occasions and “had a predilection for committing acts of voyeurism”.

Ye’s lawyers reportedly called the prosecution's sentence “harsh”, and they sought a short detention order with a community service order, or two weeks' jail in the alternative.

They said Ye was remorseful and apparently suffered from mixed depressive and anxiety disorder, as well as voyeuristic disorder, at the time of the offence, inhibiting his ability to exercise self-control.

Ye's lawyers claimed he voluntarily sought treatment in August 2023 and regularly attended psychotherapy sessions.

He apparently felt disgusted and ashamed of himself.

They also cited Ye’s break-up with his girlfriend in April 2024, which resulted in a "spree of voyeuristic behaviour".

In December 2025, Ye was assessed as presenting with paraphilic disorder and excessive pornography consumption.

His lawyers said Ye admitted to his offences when he was arrested and has not relapsed since August 2024.

For voyeurism, he could have faced a jail term of up to two years, a fine, caning, or any combination of such punishments.