KEY POINTS:
Taking covert pictures of men using urinals at a Christchurch shopping mall has landed a travel consultant in court charged with a relatively new offence.
Nicholas Wingo Guoron Mai, 22, pleaded guilty in Christchurch District Court today to making an intimate visual recording -- a charge introduced into the Crimes Act just last December which carries a maximum penalty of three years' jail.
Police prosecutor Sergeant Jeff Kay said Mai was in Westfield Riccarton mall on June 1 when he was seen entering and leaving the men's toilets in the food court area.
"On each occasion he followed a male up to the urinals and using his cellphone strategically placed in his trouser pocket recorded the males urinating," Mr Kay said.
Police were called when a man realised he was being photographed and confronted Mai.
When Mai's cellphone was inspected, six images were found in which male genitalia were clearly visible.
Mr Kay said Mai admitted the offending, telling police he was "curious".
Judge John Bisphan said he would require a report on the man before sentencing.
He convicted Mai and remanded him on bail to July 11 for sentence.
Ouside court, Mai's counsel Tim Mackenzie said the charge was an unusual one introduced last December to cover covert filming from cellphone cameras.
He knew of only one case involving a similar charge that related to a man filming up women's skirts in the same shopping mall.
Mr Mackenzie said he would need to research any similar cases before making submissions on Mai's behalf at his sentencing.
- NZPA
