SpindriftA doctor who secretly spied on 30 different people through hidden cameras installed in his home has been jailed for 18 months.
Ju Young Um, 34, hid tiny cameras in air fresheners and a smoke alarm in the bathroom and spare bedroom of his flat in Hyndland in Glasgow, which had been partially rented out on Airbnb.
Um also discreetly filmed a friend and doctor at staff accommodation in Dumfries and Galloway Royal Infirmary.
The anaesthetist, who also worked in Glasgow, denied doing anything illegal.
COPFSHe instead claims he has body dysmorphia – a condition where sufferers obsess over apparent flaws in their appearance. Um said this was only diagnosed after he was arrested.
The doctor insisted that he was born with a small penis and used the footage to compare with other men.
However, a jury at Glasgow Sheriff Court decided that Um’s acts were done for his sexual gratification.
Um was found guilty of a total of 23 charges under the Sexual Offences Act between November 2020 and August 2023.
COPFSOf his 30 victims, 21 were men and nine were women. Three of the men and one woman were doctors.
The court heard that Um initially recorded his first victim in secret with a mobile through a window while he showered.
Um later attached a camera to a smoke alarm of the fellow doctor’s bedroom at the hospital.
The footage also captured intimate footage between this man and his partner.
The court heard how one victim became suspicious after noticing two air fresheners, which appeared to be facing the toilet and shower.
On closer inspection, hidden cameras were discovered inside the plastic containers, prompting a further search of the rented bedroom.
COPFSA third camera was subsequently found inside a smoke alarm, with the victim then contacting the police.
The cameras were seized along with a mobile phone, laptop and storage device which contained recordings of several individuals.
Fiscal Lauren Aitchison asked the doctor recorded what he thought about Um’s actions.
He replied: “It makes me feel shocked, betrayed and disgusted.
“Not only because it invaded my privacy but my now wife’s as well.
“I feel like I let her down letting this person into our lives – someone who I trusted in work in a professional capacity. I feel let down and horrified.”
Another doctor was filmed on the toilet at Um’s home in the city’s Hyndland.
He initially knew Um from university and went for dinner at his house.
The doctor stated that he was “shocked and betrayed” upon learning that he had been secretly filmed.
Jurors were told that a further medic had nine recordings made of him showering and using the toilet over three months.
Um rented out his spare bedroom to others at the Hyndland property on Airbnb.
Ms Aitchison said in her closing speech to jurors: “Um violated their trust – he recorded them naked, showering, using the toilet and, on some occasions, having sex.
“He had the videos saved automatically into a folder which was backed up on hard drives and pen drives just in case.”
Um told jurors in his evidence that he was diagnosed with “suspected gigantism” when he was a teenager which was “possibly” why he had a “small penis”.
Jurors heard that Um did not seek medical help until 20 years later.
Ms Aitchison added: “His diagnosis of body dysmorphia does not come until after he was arrested.
“He said all these years led to extremes of secretly recording people. Why wait until you are caught to get private treatment?”
Um further said he did not want to view images on Google in case he came across illegal photographs.
He also claimed that he did not view pornography as it was “exaggerated and bigger than your normal male” and that he didn’t compare himself with his patients as they were “people who trusted him”.
Um, still of Hyndland, is believed to have been latterly working as a lecturer and is presently suspended from working as a doctor.
Ian Sievwright, defending, told the sentencing that his client is aware of the “harm and distress he has caused his victims”.
The lawyer added: “He is a highly educated man – a hospital doctor who lost his job and career and is now on the sex offenders register.
“He accepts wrongdoing and accepts on reflection that his behaviour was morally wrong and was criminal.”
Um was also put under supervision for nine months upon his release from prison and placed on the sex offenders register for ten years.
Fraser Gibson, Procurator Fiscal for Glasgow and Strathkelvin, said: “Ju Young Um carried out these invasive offences in a calculated and premeditated manner.
“He abused a position of trust to significantly violate the privacy of numerous individuals for his own sexual gratification.
“I give thanks to all those involved in securing this prosecution, which has held Um accountable while also protecting others from harm.
“We will continue to take action against those responsible for this type of offending as we strive to keep the communities we serve safe.”
Police Scotland detective sergeant Cameron Gilchrist, Police Scotland, added: “Ju Young Um now faces the consequences of his despicable and distressing actions.
“Our thoughts remain with his victims who had their privacy violated. We hope that his sentencing will bring them some comfort.
“Sexual crime, of any nature, is not to be tolerated and we will thoroughly investigate any reports made to us, no matter how much time has passed.
“I would urge people to come forward and you can be assured of being fully supported by officers and our partner agencies.”
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