KEY POINTS:
A Rotorua pornography addict may have his residency status revoked after he admitted to secretly filming Starbucks customers using the toilet.
Chinese immigrant Feiyu Zhou, 25, has said he was "deeply ashamed" of his actions , the Dominion Post reported today.
"I really want to clean my heart and spirit and want to start a new life."
Police say in June Zhou hid a handycam digital video camera inside the unisex toilet at Starbucks, which was used by customers.
Zhou set the camera to record after hiding all of the camera except the lens from view.
On July 16, one of the people using the toilet discovered the camera and reported it to staff.
When spoken to by police Zhou admitted what he had done. He told police he had an addiction to watching women go to the toilet and bought the camera so he could make his own recordings to satisfy his urges.
Zhou pleaded guilty to five counts of making an intimate visual recording and was sentenced in Rotorua District Court yesterday to 200 hours' community work and nine months' supervision.
Judge Phillip Cooper said Zhou's actions were a gross breach of privacy.
The judge ordered a written apology from Zhou to be given to the media.
Zhou wrote that he was "deeply ashamed" of his behaviour after becoming addicted to pornography two years ago.
The Immigration Service has revoked Zhou's work permit and is now reviewing his residency.
The Chinese national arrived in Rotorua six years ago to attend high school and had lived with a local family.
He later trained in hospitality management at polytechnic and was granted a work permit and residency.
- NZPA
