Man jailed for filming family's maid in the shower
The domestic helper had a good working relationship with her employers and was close to their two young children.
But her male employer Paul Tay Yew-Kwang, 43, preyed on the 32-year-old Indonesian woman and filmed her in the shower three times.
Tay was yesterday jailed for 10 weeks after pleading guilty to insulting the woman's modesty.
Two similar charges were taken into consideration.
The helper worked for Tay's family for about one year and eight months before his crimes came to light.
At about 3pm on Feb 25 last year, the woman was showering in the kitchen bathroom.
As she reached for the tap, she saw reflected in the mirror a phone placed in the gap above the door.
She screamed in shock and rushed out but did not see anyone outside the bathroom.
Tay had run back to his room and performed a factory reset of his phone to avoid detection.
He then went back to the kitchen and pretended to ask the victim what had happened.
Tay's wife accompanied the victim to make a police report and when questioned that evening, Tay denied committing any offence.
Three days later, he came clean, admitting he took videos of the woman two other times in November and December 2018.
Asking for 12 weeks' jail, Deputy Public Prosecutor Norine Tan said the victim had to find another employer and suffered significant emotional disruption leaving the family.
In mitigation, Tay's lawyer said Tay has written an apology to the victim. He was at the lowest point of his life when he committed the offences as he was jobless.
He added that Tay's act on Feb 25 last year was committed on the spur of the moment.
But District Judge Adam Nakhoda noted that Tay filmed the woman thrice and said it struck him as opportunistic.
The grave intrusion against the victim was also aggravating.
Tay's lawyer said Tay's family was in a difficult situation as his wife is the sole breadwinner and they have not been able to hire another helper.
In response, Judge Nakhoda said the personal hardship in this case was not so exceptional as to lend mitigating weight.
Tay begins his sentence on May 15 and is out on $10,000 bail. With the enhanced penalty of 11/2 times the maximum sentence, he could have been jailed for up to a year and a half, fined, or both.
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