Textile shop owner who discreetly filmed women in fitting room arrested

201 video clips found on his mobile phone showing young women changing clothes  

By Buddhika Kumarasiri   

A businessman who secretly placed a camera in the fitting room of his clothing outlet in the Thalawathugoda area and watched women trying on clothes was arrested by Thalangama Police yesterday.Police examined the suspect’s mobile phone and found 201 video clips of young women changing their clothes. They said the video scenes included young women changing their underwear, and a bare-bodied young woman in a bathroom of a house. 

The 43-year-old suspect is a resident of Bangalawatta in Kottawa and the owner of the clothing outlet.   

Police said they seized the camera and the mobile phone for further investigations into the possibility of the suspect’s involvement in selling video clips to local and foreign websites.   

A senior police official said the suspect could have blackmailed the young women in the video scenes and extorted money or even obtained sexual favours. The suspect was to be produced before Kaduwela Magistrate yesterday.   

The Women and Children’s Bureau of the Thalangama Police is conducting further investigations.