Tokyo Police Refer Former Singapore Counselor to Prosecutors; Ex-Counselor Suspected of Secretly Taking Photos of Boy at Bathhouse

The Yomiuri Shimbun

17:12 JST, June 13, 2024

The Metropolitan Police Department sent papers to prosecutors on Thursday on a 55-year-old former counselor of the Singapore Embassy in Tokyo on suspicion of secretly taking photos of a naked boy at a public bathhouse in the Japanese capital in February.

The former counselor arrived in Japan on Sunday for questioning at the request of the MPD. It is said to be unusual for a diplomat to return to Japan after an incident at the request that they turn themselves in to police.

He is suspected of having committed such offenses as secretly taking sexual images, as well as violating the law banning child prostitution and child pornography.

According to the MPD, the former counselor allegedly took photos of a 13-year-old boy with a smartphone in a changing room at a public bathhouse in Minato Ward, Tokyo, at around 8 p.m. on Feb. 27 and saved the photos. The former counselor admitted to the allegation, reportedly saying that he could not stop himself, as he saw naked men. He was working at the embassy at the time of the incident.

Diplomats are guaranteed immunity from being arrested in the countries to which they are dispatched under the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations. The former counselor agreed to be questioned at the scene but refused to go to the police station. He then returned to Singapore in mid-April.

Currently, the former counselor works at Singapore’s Foreign Ministry. After arriving in Japan, he reportedly said that he decided to cooperate with authorities as he regrets his actions.

When referring the case to prosecutors, the MPD had expressed its intention to leave the decision on criminal punishment to the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office.