An officer from Singapore’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) has been suspended from duties to assist in investigations amid allegations that he filmed a teenager at a public bath in Japan.
Diplomat Was Suspected Of Filming Male Teenager At Public Bath
A 55-year-old diplomat working at the Singapore embassy in Tokyo was questioned by police in Japan after being suspected of filming a male teenager at a public bath in Tokyo’s Minato Ward.
The diplomat is a “former” counsellor at the embassy, according to Japanese news outlet NHK. A counsellor is a diplomatic rank for officers serving overseas, such as in an embassy.
In Japan, swimsuits are not worn in public baths.
Japanese news outlet Yomiuri Shimbun reported that on 27 February, the diplomat had used his smartphone to secretly film a naked 13-year-old first-year middle school student in the changing room of a public bath.
A security camera at the bath house also caught the man pointing his phone at another male customer.
The public bath’s staff reportedly called the police who, upon arriving, searched the man’s phone and found “multiple naked photos of male customers,” according to Japanese news outlet Asahi Shimbun.
Diplomat Allegedly Admitted To Voyeurism
The man reportedly told the police officers he was a diplomat and refused to go to the police station.
He, however, said he would answer the police’s questions at the bath house instead.
He allegedly told officers he had taken such photos in other public baths in Minato five times in the past, as well as at other public bath houses in Japan.
The report by Asahi Shimbun added that when asked to delete the photos from his phone, the diplomat “deleted them on the spot”.
He allegedly deleted 700 photos from his phone, which he told police he had taken over a six-month period prior to getting caught.
Man Cannot Be Arrested Due to Diplomatic Immunity
Diplomats enjoy legal immunity from the jurisdiction of another country, affording diplomats almost total protection from local lawsuits and prosecution.
This immunity, which is regulated by a law common to all nations called the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, exists so that diplomats can negotiate freely without facing any fear of persecution in the host country.
It also sometimes gives diplomats the confidence to, well, “misbehave“, for lack of better word.
Diplomatic immunity can be waived by a diplomat’s home country if necessary.
Police Requested Him to Appear In Japanese Court
The diplomat has not been charged but has been requested to appear in the Japanese court by the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department.
According to NHK, the police made the court request through Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs due to the man’s diplomatic immunity.
The Japanese police are reportedly considering levying charges against him for violating child pornography laws, and have evidence that they will submit to prosecutors.
Diplomat Has Returned To Singapore
According to Asahi Shimbun, the embassy said that the diplomat had “completed his assignment as of 12 April” and has returned to Singapore.
The man reportedly did not inform MFA about the incident until he was asked about it on 1 May, after MFA learned about the allegations.
He has reportedly been suspended from duties to assist in investigations,
CNA reported that MFA is prepared to waive diplomatic immunity to facilitate investigations if the alleged facts bear out.
MFA has reportedly not received information from the authorities in Tokyo, though the ministry has reached out to the relevant authorities for information and will be thoroughly investigating the incident.
MFA said it expects all its staff to uphold the “highest standards of conduct” and to abide by the laws of their host countries.