Motion sensors explored in varsities to deter voyeurs

Communal toilets in hall residences at the Nanyang Technological University (NTU) will be fitted with motion detectors to deter trespassers.

The pilot project, initiated by the Nanyang Neighbourhood Police Centre (Jurong Police Division), was announced in an e-mail to hall residents on April 8.

An NTU spokesman said the detectors will complement other existing security measures at the residential halls, including closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras in common areas and security patrols.

The recent spate of on-campus sex offences has worried society at large.

Between February and July 2018, an NTU psychology undergraduate had taken 469 obscene videos of women, both on and off campus. He was jailed for nine months and three weeks last September.

At the National University of Singapore (NUS), a chemistry undergraduate was caught taking an upskirt video of a woman on campus in March 2017, and later found to have taken obscene videos of 104 women. He was sentenced to 28 weeks’ jail last August.

NTU students said that some of the toilets on campus had already been fitted with the motion detectors, which make a bell-like sound each time someone enters or exits.

Francine Ho, 21, a second-year Communications student, said she feels safer with the motion detectors, especially since the electronic lock on the toilet door is faulty.

She said: “With all the predators nowadays, it can be quite dangerous because you can’t tell who is in the toilet with you. But with the bell, you’re more aware of your surroundings.”

While some felt the project had its benefits, others disagreed.

Wang Fangci, 22, a third-year Business and Accountancy student, said the motion detector in the communal toilet was placed in a way it kept ringing whenever someone stood at the sink next to the door.

“Even if it rings, I can’t tell whether it’s a guy or girl who enters the toilet, so it doesn’t help much.”

Wang said she thought the CCTV cameras installed at toilet entrances were a better deterrent, as the footage could help identify perpetrators.

At NUS, besides CCTV surveillance, regular security inspections of campus restrooms are also conducted. — The Straits Times/ANN