A Tokyo court has ordered a former counselor at the Embassy of Singapore in Japan to pay a fine of 300,000 yen, or about 1,900 dollars, for secretly filming a naked teenager.
The order by the Tokyo Summary Court on Thursday came after prosecutors brought a summary indictment against Sim Siong Chye on suspicion of violating various laws, including those banning child pornography.
The 55-year-old is accused of taking video of a boy and others with a smartphone in a changing room at a public bathhouse in February. He was working at the embassy at the time.
Police rushed to the scene after receiving a call from a bathhouse employee. But the man refused to voluntarily accompany officers to a police station for questioning or give them his smartphone, citing his diplomatic immunity from arrest.
He returned to Singapore in April, but came back to Tokyo this month in response to a request from Japanese authorities. He said he wanted to express his regret and speak as an ordinary citizen.
Police say he visited Japan without having diplomatic immunity. They say it is unusual for diplomats to return to their host countries to respond to police questioning over alleged misconduct.
Ishii Masafumi, a special affiliate professor at Gakushuin University, says he thinks Singapore decided to respond honestly to Japan’s police request in consideration of its future relationship with Japan.