Melbourne trial of Singaporean doctor charged with 910 voyeurism offences delayed after lawyer change

A Singaporean trainee doctor is facing a total of 910 charges over allegations that he secretly filmed more than 450 colleagues in staff toilets and shower facilities at three major hospitals in Melbourne over a period of several years.

Ryan Yi Cho, 28, appeared briefly at Melbourne Magistrates Court on 27 February 2026 for a procedural hearing that lasted approximately 15 minutes.

Dressed in black trousers and a black suit jacket, he sat alone behind his lawyer. He did not speak during the hearing, shaking his head only when asked by the magistrate whether he had any questions.

No evidence was tendered. The case has been adjourned for three months, with proceedings now scheduled to resume on 22 May 2026. Cho has yet to enter a plea.

Adjournment granted after change of lawyers

The adjournment was sought after Cho changed his legal representation. His new defence lawyer, Kristina Kothrakis, confirmed to the court that her firm had been briefed on the case only two weeks prior and required additional time to review the extensive material.

Magistrate Michelle Mykytowycz described the adjournment as longer than usual but agreed it was appropriate given the scale of the case. She acknowledged directly that there was "obviously a very large amount of material" for the defence to consider. The court did not disclose the reason for the change in representation.

Cho's bail was extended to his next committal mention on 22 May 2026. Magistrate Mykytowycz also acknowledged the presence of alleged victims and their families, who were watching the proceedings either from within the courtroom or via webcast.

Background and charges

Cho moved from Singapore to Australia in 2018 to study at Monash University, where he completed a Bachelor of Medical Science and a Doctor of Medicine. He is a citizen of Singapore, where his family ordinarily resides, and became a permanent resident of Australia in April 2025.

He had been working as a general surgery registrar at the Austin Hospital in Melbourne's north-east when he was arrested in July 2025. The alleged offending first came to light after a nurse using a unisex staff toilet at the Austin Hospital discovered a mesh bag hanging from a plastic utility hook inside a cubicle, facing the toilet.

The bag allegedly contained clothing and a mobile phone set to flight mode and connected to a power bank. The phone was alleged to be actively recording at the time it was found.

Following investigative leads, Victoria Police's Sexual Offences and Child Abuse Investigation Team searched Cho's home. Officers allegedly found similar mesh bags and hooks, and seized a number of electronic devices, including a laptop, a hard drive and a mobile phone.

Cho was initially charged with five offences — including intentionally recording intimate images of four alleged victims and knowingly installing an optical surveillance device without consent. He was remanded in custody before successfully applying for bail at the Supreme Court of Victoria in August 2025.

Scale of alleged offending

Police said the hard drive seized from Cho's home contained more than 10,000 files of videos and images. Early estimates indicated that approximately 4,500 videos involved images of around 460 alleged victims using toilets or showers.

The alleged offending is said to have taken place across three medical facilities — the Austin Hospital, the Royal Melbourne Hospital and the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre — at all of which Cho had worked since 2021.

While most of the alleged victims appeared to be female staff members, police also alleged that intimate images were recorded of two female former housemates of Cho, as well as one of those housemates' friends, with the recordings allegedly made within their shared residential property.

The files were allegedly organised into folders and subfolders, named according to the locations where footage was captured — whether medical or residential — as well as the names of specific hospitals and their wards, the names of individual victims, and what appeared to be tiered designations of particular images and videos, described in court as Tier 1 and Tier 2.

In December 2025, Victoria Police announced a further 775 charges, bringing the total to 910 by the time of the 27 February hearing.

During earlier Supreme Court bail proceedings in 2025, prosecutors argued that Cho's alleged conduct must have created "an atmosphere of insecurity and angst among hundreds of people." The court heard that forensic analysis of devices seized from his home had uncovered alleged conduct "far greater in potential volume, scope and severity" than the initial charges had suggested.

Professional consequences

Cho was stood down from his position at the Austin Hospital after charges were laid in July 2025. The Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) subsequently suspended his medical registration.

Bail conditions

Cho remains on bail, subject to a range of strict conditions. He is bound by a night curfew, has surrendered his passport, and is prohibited from accessing the internet or any device with photographic or video capability.

He is banned from visiting any hospital without prior police approval, except in a medical emergency. He is also required to report to a local police station three times per week and to undergo psychological treatment.

His Singaporean parents, described as being of substantial means, provided an A$50,000 (approximately S$45,000) surety at the time of his bail. The court heard that one or both parents have committed to residing in Melbourne for the duration of the proceedings in order to support their son and ensure compliance with his bail conditions.

Cho was not accompanied by his parents at the 27 February hearing.

The case returns to court on 22 May 2026.