Hong Kong’s Secretary for Security, Chris Tang, mentioned that the police are contemplating the use of artificial intelligence technologies to identify potential instances of voyeurism as reports of such incidents continue to rise in the region.
The security minister stated at the Legislative Council (LegCo) on Wednesday that utilizing AI technology could assist law enforcement in detecting potential instances of voyeurism, which frequently exhibit recurring behavior patterns. Additionally, this technology can expedite the process of identifying individuals who have escaped from the scene after committing such crimes.
Nevertheless, he didn’t clarify if this would include facial recognition technology.
Tang also
told
Lawmakers informed that both the number of reported voyeurism incidents to the police and the number of arrests have been rising since the act was made illegal in October 2021.
According to information shared by Tang, police recorded 99 instances of voyeurism in 2022, this figure climbed to 139 in 2023, and further escalated to 172 in 2024. Additionally, the arrest numbers went up from 73 in 2022 to 81 in 2023, and reached 107 in 2024.
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Individuals find it difficult to obtain assistance even following Hong Kong’s recent legislation against voyeurism.
In 2021, the government introduced four additional offenses in the Crime Ordinance. These were designed to address activities like voyeurism, secret photography, unauthorized recordings or observations of private areas, and the dissemination of such visuals. It also became illegal to publish or threaten to publish intimate images without permission.
The highest punishment for these four offenses is up to five years in prison.
As stated by Tang, the prosecution rate for voyeurism-related offenses was approximately 80 percent. In both 2022 and 2023, the conviction rate exceeded 90 percent but dropped to about 85 percent in 2024.
In separate incidents, law enforcement officials recorded 350 reports of unauthorized filming or surveillance involving private areas over the past year. They arrested 252 suspects and pursued legal action against 193 individuals. Out of these, 177 persons were found guilty.
Legislator Johnny Ng sought information regarding the sentencing ranges imposed by regional courts for distributing private images or videos without permission. Tang stated that these sentences typically spanned between three to ten months in custody.
On Tuesday, a male instructor was
imprisoned for two months due to voyeurism
Following his confession about setting up secret surveillance cameras in the restroom of an all-girls high school.
On Wednesday, Legislator Chu Kwok-keung questioned whether the authorities would contemplate implementing routine inspections at educational institutions to confirm that no covert surveillance equipment was set up for unauthorized uses.
Tang mentioned that every case of voyeurism reported on campus over the past few years involved hidden cameras. In contrast, most other incidents typically saw offenders using smartphones for unauthorized recording or observation.
According to police data cited by the security minister, almost 98 percent of offenders utilized smartphones equipped with cameras for their criminal activities. These incidents predominantly took place in crowded areas like public transportation hubs, transit points, and retail centers where many pedestrians gather.
He stated that there is no evidence suggesting widespread use of covert surveillance in educational institutions. He also emphasized that governmental measures ought to be grounded in “intelligence.”
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