A former Drew & Napier lawyer was jailed for four weeks on Monday (8 June) for taking compromising photos of a female colleague in the office. He pleaded to two charges of insulting the modesty of a woman. Two additional charges of outraging and insulting her modesty were taken into consideration.
The victim was working in the same department as the accused and they often went out for meals a movies together.
In April 2017, the accused to several pictures of her chest and bra so as to “ease his stress”. At that point of time, the victim was alone in the office and she was working late to complete her work.
After taking the first set of pictures, he proceeded back to his room to look at the photos. He returned awhile later to take a second set of photographs of the victim’s underwear before leaving. After looking at the pictures, he deleted all of them.
In October 2017, he took pictures of the victim’s underwear again. The accused got sexually aroused when he saw the victim eating and did the deed again by placing his phone camera at the direct of the victim’s thighs. He then stood up and placed his buttocks on the victim’s office table, before proceeding to press his thigh against the victim’s arm. This actions was considered as a molestation charge.
Defence lawyer Tan Hee Joek stated that his client was a first time offender and he was “suffering under immense stress”. He went on to say that his client was suffering from Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.
For each charge of insulting a woman’s modesty, the man could have been jailed for up to a year, fined or both. He has since written a letter of apology to the victim.