Man who planted camera in toilet caught after filming himself by mistake

Man used his mobile phone to record two women undressing as they used the toilet, court hears.

DUBAI // A man who used his mobile phone to film his female colleagues using the toilet was caught because he recorded himself setting up the camera, a court heard today.

EA, a 27-year-old Indian, hid the phone in the toilet of the company's cafeteria for three days in a row before the device was spotted, heard the Criminal Court.

He was caught when the 26-year-old Egyptian clerk EM noticed the camera flashing at her.

The clerk said that she had been eating lunch at the cafe when she noticed the man take the key to the employees' toilet.

"Ten minutes later he returned it," said the clerk, who then asked to use the toilet herself. "After I finished I noticed a red light flashing from under the sink," said the clerk, who then investigated and found the mobile phone with its camera pointed towards the toilet seat.

"It was recording so I turned it off," she said.

When she checked the recording she found a clip of the man on the toilet seat adjusting the camera to ensure he got the full scene in the frame. She told the company's management what had happened then informed police.

Another woman captured on film by the man was SA, a 36-year-old Filipina clerk. She told the court she used the toilet several times during the period in question as she was on medication that meant she needed to make frequent visits. "I am sure he recorded me on the toilet seat," she said.

The man admitted a charge of sex assault. He told prosecutors he had played a similar trick four times previously, but claimed to have deleted the recordings without viewing them.

A verdict is expected on October 7.