Singaporean trainee doctor in Melbourne arrested for allegedly filming colleagues in toilets since 2021

The Star

4 days ago

Victims were allegedly recorded in the staff toilets of Austin Hospital's emergency department. - Photo: Screengrab from Google Street View
SINGAPORE: A Singaporean trainee doctor in Melbourne has been arrested for allegedly filming his colleagues in hospital toilets since 2021, with more than 10,000 photos and videos found in devices seized by the police.
The 27-year-old was identified as Ryan Cho, who was employed at Austin Hospital at the time, reported Australian newspaper ABC News. Other reports place his age at 28.
His medical registration has been suspended by Australian authorities.
Citing court documents, Melbourne newspaper The Age reported that on June 25, a staff member at the hospital raised concerns about a man loitering in the emergency department's staff toilets.
There had already been ongoing investigations at the hospital at the time related to toilet blockages and damage.
The police now allege that this was done to force potential victims into cubicles set up with recording devices, reported The Age.
ABC News reported that on several occasions, Cho was seen by hospital staff at the emergency department outside his rostered hours.
On July 3, a nurse found a mesh bag with a mobile phone in a staff toilet and reported it to hospital management.
The same bag was found several days later by hospital security, leading to the police being called.
Cho was arrested, with police seizing two mobile phones, a laptop and a hard drive.
Several white mesh bags and removable hooks were seized, alleged by police to be similar to the one found earlier.
A search of the hospital revealed similar hooks on other levels, including in patient toilets, that were not installed by management.
'Calculated and obsessed'
According to New Zealand newspaper 1news, Cho was first arrested on July 10.
He was initially charged with offences including stalking, and released on bail.
The police analysed the devices – which Cho allegedly refused to give them the passwords to – and reportedly found more than 10,000 videos and images.
The visuals showed the genital regions of victims using shower or toilet facilities, and were recorded from 2021 to 2025.
Many of them were reportedly of female doctors, nurses, paramedics and other hospital staff.
They were allegedly categorised into different folders referencing Austin Hospital, the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre and The Royal Melbourne Hospital, sorted according to the names of the alleged victims.
Court documents stated that the visuals were separated by 'ranking', with some in 'Tier 1' and others, 'Tier 2'.
There were also other files found that were allegedly created outside healthcare settings, including homes.
Cho was arrested again on July 25. He was refused bail, and will be remanded until his next court date on Aug 29.
Senior Constable Narelle Baker told the court that Cho 'devoted an enormous amount of time keeping his colleagues under surveillance, tampering with toilets to draw his victims into (cubicles) where devices were set up', describing him as 'calculated and obsessed'.
The police are contacting the other hospitals and potential victims during the time of Cho's employment.
Austin Health chief executive Jodie Geissler said: 'This has been an incredibly distressing situation for our staff, and their safety and well-being is our absolute priority.
'Right now, our focus is on caring for our staff. We have comprehensive support services in place and are doing everything we can to help them through this challenging time.'
The Straits Times has contacted the Singapore's Ministry of Foreign Affairs for more information. - The Straits Times/ANN