Man sentenced for upskirting on the Underground – London
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A man who roamed the London Underground network and took photos and videos up the skirts of unsuspecting victims has been sentenced following a British Transport Police (BTP) investigation.
Wui Tung Colin Chan, 22, and of Claverton Street, London, pleaded guilty to two counts of recording an image of another below clothing without consent and two counts of possession of extreme pornographic images at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on 21 September.
On Thursday 10 December, a judge at the Inner London Crown Court sentenced him to a 12-month community order in which he must complete 60 hours of unpaid work. He was also ordered to sign the Sex Offenders Register for five years.
At just before 7am on Monday 16 March, a woman was travelling up an escalator at London Victoria Underground station when she saw her skirt moving. She turned around to find Chan with his phone in his hand, its screen facing up and with the camera on.
The victim bravely took Chan to station staff and informed them of what had happened on the escalator. BTP were called and on arrival asked Chan what had occurred, to which he replied that he had “taken photos”.
Chan showed the officer a video on his phone which showed him trying to lift the victim’s coat and manoeuvre the camera underneath. He was subsequently arrested on suspicion of upskirting and taken to custody for questioning where his phone was seized for further examination.
In a search of Chan’s home, a number of electronic items were seized for examination, including another mobile phone, a laptop and a number of USB sticks. More than 100 videos of an upskirting nature were found on the devices, many of which taking place across the London Underground network.
Graphic pornographic material was also discovered on the devices and Chan was further arrested for the offence of possession of extreme pornography. When interviewed in relation to the offences, he replied ‘no comment’ to all questions.
The ‘upskirting’ law was introduced in April of last year meaning offenders can be convicted of the offence across England and Wales and face a jail sentence of up to two years.
BTP Detective Constable, Kelly Johnston, said: “Chan’s behaviour across the network was that of a predator, targeting victims as they went about their everyday routine.
“I want to commend the victim on her courageous actions on that day at Victoria station in apprehending Chan and taking him to station staff.
“Crime of this nature across will not be tolerated on the rail network and we will always seek to prosecute offenders under the new law. I encourage anyone who is a victim of – or witnesses – upskirting on the network to text us on 61016. In an emergency, always call 999.”