While changing in a private room of a massage parlor at KSL City Mall in Johor Bahru, a Singaporean woman was terrified to see a CCTV camera monitoring her.
Flashing CCTV lights
The woman told Stomp that on June 16, 2022, she, her husband, and her father-in-law were at the mall when they decided to visit a recently opened wellness spa for a massage.
“My husband, father-in-law and I paid for a foot and oil body massage session,” she recounted.
Then, they were led to their respective private rooms after the foot massage to undress and prepare for the body massage.
“I took off my clothes and when I wanted to hang the clothes on the hanger provided, I noticed a red light flashing in the corner of the room,” said the female victim.
Curious, she turned to her side and saw a CCTV camera light flashing.
Because the camera was hung adjacent to the curtain, it was less obvious.
Unless the curtain is moved, clients entering the room won’t be able to see it.
Horrified upon her discovery, the Singaporean woman shouted for her husband and hastily scrabbled for her clothes to cover herself up.
When, her spouse rushed into the room, she immediately pointed out the flashing camera light to him.
“My husband called the management team of the massage centre but they insisted that they did not know there was a camera in the room and said that it was not working.”
One in every room
This confused the Singaporean couple.
“How did they know the CCTV was not working if they were not aware there was a CCTV in the first place? And if the camera was not functioning, why was there a flashing red light?”
The woman and her husband suddenly remembered seeing a CCTV monitor at the cashier and hurried over to see if the cameras were actually filming.
They were shocked to find that there was in fact security cameras in every room, capturing every movement that took place in the massage rooms.
“The management team said they would make sure the footage was deleted and begged us not to file a police report,” the Singaporean woman stated.
However, the pair disregarded their request and dialled 911 immediately.
The massage parlor management team insisted repeatedly that they would remove the videotape, so they did not have to worry about it being uploaded publicly.
Instead, the Singaporean woman forbade them against interfering with the evidence.
“I took some pictures and videos as proof. The police came and looked at the premises of the massage centre and I was advised to make a report at the Larkin Police Station.”
Beaten to the punch
Unfortunately, the massage parlor owner arrived at the station before them.
Undeterred, the Singaporean couple still filed a police report regarding the incident.
The woman claimed that when she spoke with Investigation Officer Suhana, she was told that the manager had already turned over the hard drive containing the CCTV footage.
The management had also erased all video recordings.
Nevertheless, the Singaporean lady still had reservations, “I told the IO, I want this case to be investigated as I was not sure if the hard disk given to the police was the actual hard disk or if there were any copies of the footage.”
Unresolved to this day
The case’s outcomes haven’t been resolved nearly a year later.
When asked why she only decided to share about the incident, she told Stomp, “After the incident, I was very traumatized.
“I got some legal advice from lawyers in Malaysia and Singapore but was disappointed with the advice given.
“I’ve been trying to contact the IO to asked the status of their investigation, but I just couldn’t get through to her.
“The whole incident has left me upset and aggrieved.”
She worries if anymore of the parlor’s clientele are still being secretly recorded.
“Since this happened in Malaysia, the Singapore police are not able to do anything. So the best I can do is to warn Singaporeans to be careful and check the room before undressing.”
