Suspected peeping Tom evicted from hall, barred from living on campus

By Khairul Anwar

This is the second time this year that an alleged peeping Tom in Hall of Residence 16 was reported to police. In both cases, the suspect was caught taking photos or videos of other male students while they were showering. PHOTO ILLUSTRATION: ZHENG JUNCEN

NTU has evicted the suspected peeping Tom who was arrested by police about two weeks ago for allegedly taking videos of other male residents showering in Hall of Residence 16 toilets.

The 24-year-old is “no longer a resident at the hall and has been barred from hall accommodation for the rest of his period of study”, the university said in a statement.

He may also face disciplinary action, depending on the outcome of the police investigation.
The suspect, a fourth-year student, was arrested after he was caught taking a video of another resident on 13 Oct.

The resident, who only wanted to be referred to as George, was taking a shower at about 1am when he noticed a phone raised above his cubicle door.

The second-year School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering student covered himself and rushed out to confront the phone’s owner, but the suspect quickly hid in another cubicle.

George then called his roommate and two of his neighbours to help him catch the suspect.

When the alleged peeping Tom emerged from the cubicle, they confronted him and alerted campus security, who then called the police.

While waiting for police to arrive, the four residents found 66 videos of male students showering in a folder of recently deleted items in the suspect’s phone.

Police said the case would be handed over to an Investigating Officer for further action.

The University is also assisting with the investigation.

This is the second time a peeping Tom was caught allegedly targeting men showering in Hall of Residence 16. Last semester, another student was also found to have taken photographs of fellow residents while they were in the shower.

A security guard patrols each block in the hall at least once every two hours. There is also a scanning system in place to ensure each patrol is completed on time.

But while these security measures are already in place, Hall 16 President Paul Lee still reminded residents to be careful.

“We strongly advise all residents in every hall, no matter their gender, to be careful when they shower or use the washroom,” Lee said.

“No one is safe, so bathe quickly and be observant of the openings in the toilet cubicles,” he added.

News reports about the incident triggered discussions online.

In a statement released on 14 Oct, NTU Kaleidoscope, an independent student group concerned about issues in the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning (LGBTQ+) community, condemned the incident, calling it a case of “sexual harassment”.

But the group also expressed concern about public discrimination against members of the LGBTQ+ community.

“We have noticed some pejorative online comments based on the perceived sexuality of the accused party,” the group said. “We are deeply concerned with the lack of understanding about and discriminatory attitudes towards the LGBTQ+ community.”

The group cautioned students against linking sexual orientation to behavior, adding that research has shown no causal link “between one’s sexual orientation and the propensity towards committing sexual assault or harassment.”