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Ex-teacher jailed one year for filming girls in school toilet
By Alvina Soh | Posted: 01 August 2012 1303 hrs
SINGAPORE: A former science teacher at a secondary school in Jurong, who filmed girls in the school's toilet, was jailed for one year on Wednesday.
37-year-old Bertrand Ngien Wen Tseah was found guilty of three offences -- insulting the modesty of a woman, mischief, and destroying evidence.
On the morning of February 15, he hid three pinhole cameras in the cubicles of the female toilet. He then recorded a video of a 14-year-old student using the toilet.
Later that day, he noticed the three cameras lying inside the office of the school's operating manager. Ngien decided to get rid of the footages after realising that the cameras contained the recordings.
He waited until the room was empty before sneaking in and removing the memory cards from the cameras. Ngien later threw the memory cards into a canal at Jurong West.
Later that night, Ngien even threw away the school laptop, issued to him by the Ministry of Education, into a kitchen rubbish chute at his Clementi home. He had used the laptop to view earlier video recordings of girls using the toilet.
He only admitted to his offences after he was found out by school authorities.
In passing sentence, District Judge Shaifuddin Saruwan condemned the acts, saying that Ngien had "preyed on the young and vulnerable." He added that Ngien as an educator, who was in a position of trust, abused his position of authority.
The judge also highlighted that the offence occurred in a place where "students should feel safe".
The court also heard that Ngien, who has been diagnosed with schizophrenia, is currently undergoing psychiatric treatment.
-CNA/ac
