3 Malaysian Women Found A Hidden Camera In Their Rented Apartment In Portugal
The apartment was rated 9.2 on Booking.com.
By Jia Vern Tham — 24 Jun 2019, 01:25 PM
Three Malaysian women, who had been travelling around Portugal, discovered a hidden camera in their apartment in the city of Porto on 20 June
One of the women, Rubee Woo revealed through a Facebook post that the camera was found in the bathroom of the apartment.
The women had booked their accommodation through Booking.com.
At the time of writing, the post has garnered over 8,000 shares on Facebook.
One of the victims was preparing to take a shower just past midnight when she noticed something strange about the socket in the bathroom
According to Portugese media The Renaissance, the victim felt "there was something wrong" about the socket and looked closer at it.
She then discovered the hidden camera after inspecting the socket with her phone's flashlight.
The women then contacted the local police, but feared retaliation from the apartment owner – who was staying one floor below them.
"While waiting for the police, we heard noises downstairs and we were frightened because the owner might have realised that we found the camera," Rubee said in her Facebook post.
Local police arrived at the apartment after 30 minutes and began to remove the camera from the bathroom
"After the police removed the camera, we packed our things and handed the apartment key to them," Rubee said.
However, the women saw the apartment owner having a smoke with the police officers before they left, and had a hunch that no action would be taken over the matter.
"When we were leaving the place, the owner didn't dare to look us in the eye.. We are 200% sure that the camera was set up by him," Rubee added.
The victims decided to lodge a police report on the following day to ensure action is taken over the incident
"We lodged a police report because we don't want the incident to be dismissed just because we're Asians," Rubee wrote, before adding that the women hope the apartment owner will face prosecution for the hidden camera.
One of the victims also told SAYS that there has yet to be an official statement from local police over the matter. However, the evidence has been sent for investigations.
Rubee also warned the public about booking accommodations online based on reviews, as the apartment booked by the victims was rated 9.2 on the website.
"Don't believe the ratings online no matter how high they are, don't trust the owners no matter how friendly they are," she wrote in the post.
Nonetheless, Booking.com had arranged another hotel for the women on the night of the incident following their report
In addition, Booking.com also said in a statement dated 25 June that the apartment in question has been suspended from the website pending an investigation into the incident.
"We do not tolerate improper behaviour from our accommodation partners and in the very rare instance that we're made aware of such a situation, we investigate immediately. We are refunding this customer in full and are covering any extra costs related to their relocation," the company said in its statement.