Singapore diplomat in Japan questioned by police after allegedly filming student in public toilet: reports

SINGAPORE: A diplomat at the Singapore embassy in Tokyo was questioned by police after being suspected of filming a teenager in a public toilet, according to Japanese media reports on Thursday (May 2).

The diplomat in question is a 55-year-old man who, according to NHK, is a “former” embassy counselor. A counselor is a diplomatic rank for officials serving abroad, such as in an embassy.

Yomiuri Shimbun reported that on February 27, the man used his smartphone to secretly film a 13-year-old high school freshman in the locker room of a public bathroom. The boy was naked.

Staff members at the public bath in Tokyo’s Minato district reportedly called police, who upon arrival searched the diplomat’s phone and found “multiple photos of naked male customers,” according to the Asahi Shimbun.

He added that the diplomat refused to go to the police station, but told the agents that he had taken those photographs in other public bathrooms.

When asked to delete the photos from his phone, the diplomat “deleted them on the spot,” the Japanese media outlet reported. He allegedly deleted 700 photos from his phone, which he told police he had taken in the six months before the incident.

Tokyo police are investigating possible violations of child pornography laws and plan to ask Singapore’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) to have the man surrender, the Asahi Shimbun said. Formal charges are also being considered.

According to the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, a diplomat cannot be arrested.

When asked by the Asahi Shimbun on Thursday, the embassy was not aware of the public bathroom incident. The embassy also told the newspaper that the diplomat had “completed his mission on April 12” and had returned to Singapore.

CNA has contacted MFA for comment.