Briton jailed in Singapore over hidden camera in Scoot 787

A 52-year-old British man has been jailed in Singapore after a hidden camera was found in the lavatory of a Scoot Boeing 787 on 7 October, according to One Mile at a Time, which cites a report by The Straits Times. The flight was travelling from Osaka Kansai to Singapore Changi. He faces charges of voyeurism and obstructing the course of justice, and his trial is due in the coming weeks.

What happened on the flight

One Mile at a Time reports that the man installed a camera in the aircraft lavatory shortly after take-off. The device could reportedly be controlled remotely through an app on his phone.

A flight attendant who was using the lavatory later found the camera, removed it and alerted the rest of the crew. The passenger reportedly went back to retrieve the device and found it was no longer there.

The crew identified who the camera belonged to, although One Mile at a Time says it is not entirely clear how. By then, the report says, the man had deleted the app and related pictures from his phone to avoid detection.

Arrest and charges

The man was detained when the aircraft arrived in Singapore, and his camera and phone were seized. He is now in custody, with a trial expected shortly.

According to the report, voyeurism in Singapore carries a penalty of up to two years in jail, a fine, caning, or a combination of these. Obstructing the course of justice can lead to up to seven years in jail, a fine, or both.

Scoot is the low-cost subsidiary of Singapore Airlines. Readers comparing the two carriers can see our Singapore Airlines vs Scoot comparison.

What this means for travellers

The sources do not describe any change to Scoot's procedures, nor do they say how many passengers, if any, were recorded. It is also not stated whether the airline has commented on the case. Those points remain unknown.

The case does show that cabin crew can and do act on discovered devices, and that offences of this kind can lead to arrest on arrival in Singapore. Passengers who find an unfamiliar device or anything suspicious in a lavatory should tell cabin crew rather than handle it themselves. Crew were able to act in this instance because the device was reported straight away.