Man, 39, arrested for taking upskirt photos of Hong Kong schoolgirls
Incident comes days after online forum post prompted requests for pictures of Good Hope School pupils in uniform
A 39-year-old man was arrested on Tuesday evening for taking upskirt photos of girls at more than one Hong Kong school.
The arrest came after secretly taken pictures of schoolgirls from Good Hope School, in Wong Tai Sin District, were spread online last week, sparking uproar.
A police insider said the man was picked up in Choi Hung MTR station at 5pm on Tuesday. Officers found upskirt pictures in his phone, with the victims coming from Good Hope School (Secondary Section) on Clear Water Bay Road as well as other schools.
“Students from Good Hope School normally change minibus at Choi Hung near the MTR station to go to school,” the source said. “Officers found the man suspicious as he tailed schoolgirls and stayed very close to them at the station. So we picked him up.”
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Police seized four phones from the suspect. Upskirt photos and videos were found on all the devices. The suspect, who has a criminal record for outraging public decency, denied posting any of the pictures online.
On Wednesday he was being detained for further investigation.
The force could not verify the number of victims and the schools involved as many of the photos were close-ups of legs, some in white skirts.
“We could identify victims from the secondary section of Good Hope School as their uniform is green,” another police source said.
Last Thursday, a photo showing two girls in the school’s green uniform were posted on an online forum under the topic “Is the girl school that does not require [pupils] to wear socks Good Hope School?”
The girls’ faces are not shown. The photo focused on their bodies and legs in nude stockings and was apparently taken secretly inside an MTR train.
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Other forum users followed suit and uploaded pictures of pupils from the same school.
Some even asked others to take pictures at Choi Hung station after 3.30pm as there would be many Good Hope School schoolgirls there at that time.
In response, one pupil wrote on the forum: “We are just wearing our formal uniform. If you think you are enjoying freedom of speech, please respect us and look out if your comments harm others.”
Another posted a comment on the subject on Instagram, writing: “There is nothing that we students can do to defend ourselves against these disrespectful actions. We feel extremely humiliated, yet we are helpless against this situation.”
One parent of a girl in the primary section of Good Hope School said on Wednesday the incident made him worry that his daughter would also become a victim.
“I taught her how to protect herself and be cautious in crowded places and on escalators,” the father said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
