Peeper in Australia hides camera in sponge to film flatmates showering

SYLVIA LIBER

Rico Auliaputra outside court in April.

A University of Wollongong student in Sydney, Australia who attempted to film his three female flatmates in the shower with a camera hidden inside a sponge has avoided jail time.

Rico Auliaputra, a 25-year-old Indonesian national studying for a degree in internet technology, was charged with filming a person in a private act without consent, after one of his three flatmates noticed a green flashing light coming from a sponge left on the bathroom floor of their Wollongong CBD apartment the night of October 28 last year.

Upon inspection, the woman found a small camera with an SD card inserted inside. A power cord extending out of the camera led to a battery pack hidden under the vanity.

The women called Auliaputra, who arrived at the unit 30 minutes later. They all agreed to view the contents of the SD card, but then decided to wait for police to arrive first. Auliaputra seized on the opportunity and threw the SD card off the balcony of his unit block.

He then denied knowledge of its whereabouts when questioned by police.

A week later, one of the women discovered a charger and a USB flash drive in Auliaputra's bedroom and upon carrying out a search on Ebay, discovered they were part of a pack that included the same type of camera found in the sponge.

The women confronted Auliaputra, who admitted his crimes.

He was arrested by police in February and during a subsequent interview, confessed to setting up the camera in the unit with the intention of watching his flatmates in the shower.

In court on Tuesday, Magistrate Cate Follent ordered Auliaputra to perform 250 hours of unpaid community service work as punishment.

In doing so she rejected suggestions from defence lawyer Paul Paine that Auliaputra should be put on a supervised good behaviour bond.

"What you did was reprehensible," she said.

"Your behaviour was calculating and exploitative.

"It represented a significant breach of trust ... you showed no regard to the dignity of your victims."

Auliaputra's lawyer, Paul Paine, said his client deeply regretted his actions.

"When I asked him why, he said 'because I betrayed my friends'," Paine said.

The court heard Auliaputra had no criminal record in Australia and worked part-time as a cook to support himself.