Hidden camera recordings of girls getting changed stored on shared Google drive folder called ‘vids for life’, Hong Kong court hears

Recordings of girls changing at an elite Hong Kong secondary school were stored on a shared Google drive folder called “vids for life”, a court heard on Friday.

The Juvenile Court also learned specific girls were targeted in a chat group on an instant messaging platform that members hastily left when teachers began rounding up suspects last March.

On trial are two 16-year-old boys, who pleaded not guilty to five counts of obtaining access to a computer with a view to dishonest gain for oneself or another, an offence punishable by five years’ imprisonment, and conspiracy charges.

Neither the pupils nor the school can be named for legal reasons.

Prosecutors alleged the boys installed hidden GoPro and iPad cameras in two classrooms and two changing rooms, in an offence that spanned six months from September 2016 to March 23 last year. The case involved more than 40 videos and photos.

On Friday, the second defendant’s form teacher testified that they first discovered the videos in a shared Google drive folder named “vids for life”.

Inside were three subfolders, with videos of schoolgirls changing for sports lessons stored under the names “pool” and “change”, while upskirt footage taken in classrooms was stored in a folder called “under”.

Another Google drive was later discovered when teachers gained access to a Telegram chat group, in which the members discussed which girls to target, the form teacher said.

That drive also contained videos as well as images named after specific girls.

They included a set of videos filmed by cameras placed at the front and back of a classroom that recorded schoolgirls changing for a sports lesson.

A Microsoft Word file containing the hyperlink of a changing room video uploaded to YouTube was also found. The video had 13 views.

According to the first defendant, the YouTube account belonged to the second defendant, the form teacher said.

“I was disappointed,” the form teacher said as she recalled interrogating the second defendant and another student. “I asked if there were other videos. They said they didn’t know what was happening.”

The second defendant had told her that he loaned his GoPro camera and iPad to the first defendant, but that he did not know what happened afterwards, she said.

A sports teacher responsible for identifying the victims in the videos said many girls were caught stepping over a camera placed on the floor in one classroom.

“First you see the girl’s face, then under her skirt,” the teacher said.

In one video, she said a girl was seen pointing at the camera and saying: “There’s an iPad here.”

A copy of the chat group logs presented in court showed members quitting as the school carried out investigations.

The six-day trial before magistrate Lam Tsz-kan continues on Monday.