Peeping Tom who trespassed into flat to peek at girls jailed

A 24-year-old man trespassed into a Housing Board unit after he felt the urge to peep at girls.

Muhammad Nur Shafiq Omar, who was a Singapore Civil Defence Force full-time national serviceman when he committed the offences, admitted yesterday to one charge of house trespass.

He was sentenced to six weeks in jail and given 20 days of enhanced punishment.

Last June, Shafiq's friend gave him a lift home after Hari Raya visiting.

Shafiq then went to a nearby block as he wanted to peep at girls in their homes.

The victim's unit caught his attention because her bedroom lights were on.

Finding the window unlocked, Shafiq pushed open the sliding window.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Tay Jia En said: "The victim heard the sound of the sliding window opening and saw the accused's hand reaching into her unit to push away her bedroom curtains."

The victim, 20, screamed and Shafiq fled towards the lift lobby.

Her sister then lodged a police report.

Shafiq was already being investigated for a similar offence at the time.

Just 16 days before, he had pushed open a sliding bedroom window of another unit, but was caught before he could try anything.

During the time of both offences, Shafiq was under a remission order between Feb 18, 2019, and July 13, 2019.

DPP Tan asked for at least six weeks' jail and 27 days of enhanced punishment.

VULNERABLE

He highlighted several aggravating factors such as Shafiq's previous convictions and that the offences were committed in the early morning, when the victims were most vulnerable.

In 2014, Shafiq was given 15 months' probation for peeking at girls in a female toilet and for two property-related offences.

In 2015, he was sentenced to a stint at the Reformative Training Centre for trespass, and in 2019, he was given 15 months' jail for the same offence, as well as traffic-related offences.

In mitigation, Shafiq's lawyer said he has since matured and still has the propensity for reform.