The head chef of a Four Seasons Hotel restaurant in Hong Kong who formerly worked at the Michelin-starred flagship in Tokyo has admitted to secretly filming upskirt videos of women, saying he did so because he was suffering from depression and had been influenced by pornography.

Eastern Court on Thursday convicted Japanese national Eisaku Hara, 50, who hid a pen camera in the side pocket of his backpack to film three women inside the Central store of retail chain Don Don Donki on April 10, 2022.

Pleading guilty to three counts of unlawful recording or observation of intimate parts, Hara told the court he acted “on impulse” as he was suffering from depression as a result of being separated from his family in Japan during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Magistrate Tsang Chung-yiu said he would consider imposing a custodial sentence as the offences were far more serious than similar cases in which mobile phones were used to take illegal clandestine photos.

“I note that the defendant used a pen camera, and that must show that it was premeditated before he took action,” he said.

Hara’s counsel asked the court to note that his client, who came to Hong Kong with a work visa in 2017, had a clear record and only fell afoul of the law as he did not know how to manage his emotions.