Chong Boon Tay jailed for stalking, filming young women

In one disturbing case, the man filmed a woman masturbating in her Campsie home, then left her a note taped to the window telling her she was a “beautiful lady”.

Chong Boon Tay was jailed for five years on Thursday.

A depraved peeping Tom who secretly stalked and filmed girls in their rooms before attacking them has been jailed for five years.

Chong Boon Tay pleaded guilty to eight deviant acts which took place over four months between October 2019 and February 2020.

The 39-year-old who appeared in the District Court via video link from Kempsey Jail on Thursday, was given a head sentence of eight years, with a five-year, three-month non-parole period.

The bearded, skinny prisoner with jet black shoulder-length hair shook his head as the Malay interpreter told him his fate.

In one disturbing case, the Malaysian national videoed a woman masturbating in her Campsie home, then left her a note taped to the window telling her she was a “beautiful lady”.

In the letter, he claimed to have videoed her touching herself, then apologised and told her not to tell anyone, the court heard.

About 11.30pm the night before on 29 October, 2019, the 33-year-old woman who was studying on the sofa, heard a knock on the window before she saw a long piece of wire poking through the flywire.

She heard Tay say in Mandarin: “I saw you … don’t call out, don’t call out, don’t tell anyone,“ the court heard.

He would sometimes steal a memento including women’s underwear and personal photos, which police later found in his apartment, the court heard.

In the early hours of February 26, 2020 in Burwood, Tay attacked a 15-yr-old girl in her room, the court heard.

He called her by her nickname, which District Court Judge Nicole Noman SC told the court was evidence he had planned the attack.

He climbed through the girl’s window and jumped on top of her, smothering her nose and mouth with his hands until she stopped breathing, the court heard.

Tay threatened her: “I will stab you with a knife if you scream. I dare you to call out, if you want to die”.

He ended up leaving, but left behind a thin rope, a stick with tape and a packet of Chinese cigarettes.

Another resident said female underwear from the washing line had gone missing and she had previously heard porn playing outside, Judge Noman told the court.

And later that month, he attacked a 22-year-old girl in her Campsie townhouse wearing a balaclava.

The court heard he forced her door open at 10pm, put a hand over her mouth and around her body then asked her to touch his erect penis.

Judge Noman told the court Tay only left when she said her roommate was expected home and after he had made her “pinky swear” not to tell anyone he was there.

The Chinese cigarettes he left at various scenes became his trademark and the vital piece of evidence police used to connect his crimes, the court heard.

Judge Norman told the court Tay was a chronic gambler and ice user who came to Australia on a tourist visa in 2018.

He had served an 18-month prison sentence in his home country for breaking and entering.

Although acknowledging he would struggle in prison with limited English, Judge Norman said only a lengthy jail term would reflect how serious his crimes were.