SOURCE: The Straits Times Online

A former secondary school teacher who placed three pinhole cameras in toilet cubicles in the female toilet was jailed for 12 months on Wednesday for insulting modesty and two other offences.

Bertrand Ngien Wen-Tseah alias Yan Wenjie, 37, had admitted to intruding into the privacy of a 14-year-old student, destroying evidence and mischief on Feb 15.

A Community Court was told earlier that he had gone to the female toilet of the school at about 7am that day and put the cameras at each of the three cubicles.

One of them captured a video recording of the victim using the toilet. At about 1pm that day, Ngien was walking past the operations manager's office when he saw the cameras there and decided to "get rid of it''. He removed the memory cards from the cameras and threw them into a canal in Jurong West.

Later on, when the operations manager realised what had happened, Ngien was called back.

He was interviewed by the principal, vice-principal and other senior teachers, As he was leaving the school, he took the Ministry of Education-issued laptop which had footage of earlier video recordings of girls using the toilet.

He took it home and threw it down the rubbish chute.

Community Court judge Shaiffudin Saruwan said there was a need for deterrence as Ngien had preyed on young and vulnerable victims, betrayed his position of trust by violating the privacy and modesty of students in a place where they should fee safe.

Five other charges of criminal trespass and insulting modesty were considered during his sentencing.

Read more stories in the Courtroom.