Singapore woman jailed for selling videos taken in fitness club’s female changing rooms

A Singapore woman who filmed unsuspecting female victims in the changing rooms of the True Fitness gym at the city's Suntec City Mall and then attempted to sell the footage online, has been jailed.

Heng Li Ying, aged 29, attempted to sell the footage on the Sammyboy forum, requesting that buyers transfer an agreed payment to her bank account and before making the videos available to them via download links.

Over around five months from early 2014 to May the same year, she earned at least SG$1,540 by selling such videos, lasting less than a minute to almost two minutes, to at least 22 people.

As of 2nd May, the marketing executive was sentenced to 30 weeks' jail after admitting to three counts of intruding into the privacy of a Caucasian woman and two unknown women at the True Fitness outlet at Suntec City Mall between 19th and 26th April 2014.

Two other similar charges as well as one of having 23 obscene films were considered during her sentencing.

Singapore Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Winston Man said Heng, a National University of Singapore graduate, signed up for a two-year membership at True Fitness in 2012 which allowed her to use facilities belonging to the gym across Singapore.

Some time in early 2014, she created an account with the username ‘gargar787' on Sammy boy, an online forum with sections that allow users to post and exchange sexually explicit material including self-recorded sex videos and pornography.

At least two parties bought a 53-second video featuring a Caucasian woman; at least two more bought a 106-second video that featured a middle-aged female who was drying her body; and at least two more users bought a 108-second video of a woman who had just left the shower.

Heng created a discussion thread labelled ‘Changing room peektures’ to advertise videos depicting women in various states of undress, for sale at either 10 or 20 cents per second of footage.

The DPP said True Fitness was alerted to the fact that compromising videos of customers in their changing rooms had been posted for sale and circulated online, thus creating disquiet among their clientele. It made a Police report on 10th April that year.

Pleading for leniency, Heng apologised through her lawyer to the victims and the court for her wrongful actions.

Heng could have been jailed for up to one year and/or fined on each charge.

Images: True Fitness Suntec City (top) and the chnaging room where the offences took place (below).

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