Full Breakdown
Remuera Accountant Sentenced for Recording Men in Changing Rooms
7/4/2026, 5:34:46 AM
Offence and Sentencing
Chong Yew Khoo, a Remuera chartered accountant, pleaded guilty to 13 counts of making intimate visual recordings, one count of possessing them and one count of making an objectionable publication. The recordings were made in changing rooms of Olympic Pools & Fitness Centre on Broadway, Newmarket, from 2019 to 2025. Judge Hermann Retzlaff set a starting point of three years and six months’ imprisonment, applied discounts for an early plea, remorse and therapy, and imposed a 24-month sentence served as 12 months home detention and six months post-detention.
Investigation and Professional Response
Chartered Accountants ANZ opened an investigation. Police executed a search warrant at Khoo’s home three weeks after a patron reported his phone camera aimed at another user. Khoo cooperated, seizing four devices containing under 400 videos, including recordings of seven children and three youths 14-17.
Key Actors and Legal Context
The actors are Khoo; Crown prosecutor Fiona Culliney (who sought four-year term); defence lawyer Scott Brickell (who stressed remorse, therapy and no distribution); Judge Hermann Retzlaff (who delivered sentence); and Chartered Accountants ANZ (conducting professional probe).
Scope of Abuse
Police recovered nearly 400 videos showing naked men, totaling 398 genitals, plus recordings of seven children and three adolescents. The abuse spanned six years, from 2019 to 2025, and all recordings were made without consent.
Official Statements & Responses
Culliney highlighted a “high expectation of privacy” in changing rooms and called the conduct a breach of a “silent contract.” Retzlaff noted pre-meditated nature, victim count and vulnerability of individuals filmed naked, linking harm to disrupted sleep and reduced safety. Chartered Accountants ANZ said its probe will assess professional sanctions.
Criticism & Opposition
Brickell called the conduct a “serious invasion of privacy in a vulnerable setting” but argued sentence should reflect Khoo’s remorse, therapy and no material was distributed. Crown did not seek placement on child sex offender register, noting Khoo’s focus on adult males.
Conflicting Reports & Gaps
Crown sought a four-year custodial term, but court imposed 12-month home detention. Although minors were recorded, Khoo was not placed on child sex offender register, point of contention. No evidence of distribution was presented.
Verbatim Quotes
- “‘High expectation of privacy’ Prosecutor Fiona Culliney said there was a silent contract between people in the changing rooms, and this type of offending carried “particular concern” for the public.” — Fiona Culliney, Crown prosecutor
- “people would not do this to you” — Hermann Retzlaff, Judge
- “Clearly the offending has caused harm to these victims and those who have not been heard,” — Hermann Retzlaff, Judge
- “very serious invasion of privacy in a vulnerable setting” — Scott Brickell, defence lawyer
Implications and Next Steps
Case underscores focus on privacy breaches in facilities and may prompt gyms to tighten surveillance. Chartered Accountants ANZ’s probe will decide on professional sanctions, while sentencing sets a benchmark for handling non-distributed intimate visual recordings in New Zealand.
