Starbucks boss jailed for changing-room videos
A Starbucks Coffee manager was jailed for four months yesterday for filming five female colleagues undressing in a changing room and storing some of the videos on a computer in the office.
Sy Yik-man, 26, was criticised by a District Court judge for seriously intruding on women's dignity and privacy for making six videos which lasted more than an hour. His crime came to light when his supervisor found two of the videos on a computer at the coffee shop's office, the court heard. The victims had worked with Sy for three to five years.
Sy earlier pleaded guilty to six counts of obtaining access to a computer with dishonest intent. The court agreed to leave another 15 charges on court file, which would not be proceeded with without the leave of the court.
Yesterday, Sy asked his lawyer to apologise to the victims on his behalf. A psychological report found that he suffered from depression.
Sy's lawyer told the court that Sy committed the offences because he suffered intense stress from work. He had to deal with customers' complaints and meet sales targets. Some of his former colleagues attended the hearing. In a letter submitted to court, they described Sy as a responsible, hard-working and honest man.
Judge Garry Tallentire said Sy's crime was serious because it was well-planned and involved a fundamental breach of trust. He decided to hand down a jail sentence rather than a community service order to send a message that superiors should not take advantage of subordinates.
A six-month term was reduced by a third because of Sy's plea.
The court had heard that on December 8, 2009, Sy's supervisor found two video clips on an office computer of two female staff members undressing, their underwear clearly visible. Sy was captured adjusting the angle of the handset in one of the videos. Sy was fired the next day. The coffee shop reported the matter to police, who found four further video clips of another three of Sy's female subordinates getting changed.
