Malaysian man caught after woman passenger finds camera he kept in washroom of United Airlines flight
A man from Malaysia was arrested for slyly installing a camera in the first-class bathroom onboard a United Airlines flight on May 5. The gadget was discovered by a female passenger.
The passenger by name Choon Ping Lee was charged for video voyeurism under the special maritime and territorial powers of the United States, as reported by KTRK. The incident occurred onboard United Airlines flight 646 from San Diego to Houston, bound for the George Bush Intercontinental Airport.
The woman passenger spotted a blue light that was being emitted by the camera when she went in to use to the bathroom. She immediately took the device to the flight crew and they handed it over to ground authorities, the Daily Mail said.
The security at the airport later figured out that the equipment was installed for video recording. The footage was examined and it showed a man installing the camera, the Daily Mail said.
FBI San Diego had the video footage of all passengers who boarded the United Airlines flight and were able to identify the culprit with the help of the Houston police.
The FBI recovered deleted files from the device. The agents found that the same device was used on another plane as well and the footage of two other women had been captured too. One of the hapless victims was wearing an Emirates flight crew uniform.
The FBI then got in touch with Halliburton and the company gave them information about Lee's travel. Halliburton was able to provide a picture of Lee who was wearing a watch and a bracelet. That matched the jewelry he was wearing on the footage obtained from the flight on May 5. hat
Halliburton said, "Halliburton is aware of the situation and is cooperating with the FBI and the U.S. Attorney's office in their investigation."
Lee would face up to a year in prison along with a fine penalty or both. He was charged with video voyeurism while onboard an aircraft. This law was added to the U.S. code in 2004. The Houston Chronicle reported that Lee was the first person ever to be arrested under this law 15 years after it was established.