Man set up live upskirt camera feed of woman, sent her AI-generated nude using her face
The victim was alarmed and became fearful whenever she was approached by men as a result.
by Lydia Lam · CNA · JoinRead a summary of this article on FAST.
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SINGAPORE: A man sent a woman an artificial intelligence-generated photo of her face on a nude body, and set up cameras under her work desk for a live "upskirt" feed.
The woman was alarmed by his actions and became fearful whenever she was approached by men as a result.
Desmond Han Jiancong, a 31-year-old Singaporean, pleaded guilty on Monday (May 11) to one count each of installing equipment to enable voyeurism and insulting the modesty of the victim.
Another three charges will be considered in sentencing.
THE CASE
The court heard that Han and the victim were acquaintances.
The court imposed a gag order to protect the victim's identity. As part of the order, the victim's age and workplace were redacted from court papers.
Han had tried asking the victim out for a meal but she declined to do so on a one-to-one basis.
She asked him if he had feelings for her, and he said he merely treated her "as an older sister".
On the night of Aug 27, 2024, Han sent the victim a photo of a topless woman via Telegram under an account name redacted from court papers. The face of the woman resembled the victim's.
He had used the victim's photo to generate the image using artificial intelligence.
The victim was very disturbed by the photo and confronted Han.
He claimed that while the phone number linked to the account was his, he had been hacked and the Telegram account did not belong to him.
The victim told Han she would lodge a police report, and he told her to do so. He also claimed that his Instagram and Facebook accounts had been hacked.
The woman later discovered that Han had unfriended her on both accounts before sending her connection requests again, which she rejected.
On Jan 27, 2025, Han sent the victim a photo of her back view via Telegram, with a lewd caption.
The victim did not know that such a photo of her had been taken. She deleted the photo and its caption and felt very uncomfortable, fearing for her safety.
She lodged a police report later that day, saying she had been repeatedly harassed by Han via Telegram between December 2024 and January 2025. She also told the police about the AI-generated photo sent in August 2024.
THE SPY CAMERAS
Han also ordered spy cameras online on Jan 20, 2025.
After receiving them three days later, he placed three spy cameras at the victim's desk at her office, to which he had access.
Han placed the cameras in a way that he could capture upskirt videos of the victim's private parts.
He connected the cameras to a power supply and stuck them to the underside of the table using double-sided tape.
Han then placed his phone in a locker nearby to provide an internet connection for a live feed of the cameras. He also connected the phone to a portable charger so the connection could last longer.
Between Jan 23, 2025 and Feb 7, 2025, Han set up the spy cameras at the victim's desk on two or three occasions.
Generally, he did so for a week at a time, setting up the devices at around 7am to minimise the likelihood of detection.
On Fen 7, 2025, the victim discovered a spy camera on a cardboard box under her table. It had an SD card within it.
She covered the lens of the camera and kept it, showing it to her manager before calling the police.
That same day, unbeknownst to the victim, Han took public transport to the victim's home after setting up the spy cameras at her desk.
He arrived at the victim's home at around 8.40am and found no one in her unit.
Wanting to check out her living conditions, Han stuck his hand through the open windows and filmed at least five videos of the interior of the house.
After the police received the case, they informed the victim that they had found three spy cameras at her desk, and that Han had visited her home.
The victim was alarmed and concerned that Han might do it again.
No recordings were found on the devices seized from Han.
During investigations, he did not disclose what he managed to observe on the spy cameras on previous occasions.
He also did not disclose his motives for the offences to investigators.
Han will return to court for mitigation and sentencing on May 26.
For installing equipment to enable voyeurism, he could be jailed for up to two years, fined, caned, or given a combination of these punishments.
For insulting modesty, he could be jailed for up to a year, fined, or both.
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