Woman felt ‘violated’ by webcam in Giggling Squid restaurant toilets
ProvidedA woman said she felt “violated” when she found a livestream camera hidden inside the toilet she used during a date at a restaurant.
The 32-year-old mother-of-one was on a date night with her partner at Thai restaurant Giggling Squid in Leicester’s St Martin’s Square between Christmas and New Year when she made the discovery and alerted staff.
Leicestershire Police have been informed and carried out an investigation but no arrests have yet been made by the police.
The victim told the BBC: “It makes me sick; I tried to tear myself away from it but whoever did this won, they’ve taken mine now.”
The NHS worker had visited the restaurant for food on December 30 and needed to use the toilet after eating.
But after using the toilet inside a stall, he noticed that under the toilet seat was a black camera with a kitchen roll wrapped around it, with a black lens visible. It later turned out that the camera was connected to the internet.
He said: “I looked back and looked down and saw this black circular spot, which was a bit out of place because the toilet was white.
“There it was, a little camera, some wires coming out of it, and then there was a kitchen roll battery pack on it, and I felt sick.
“I was terrified at the thought of someone watching, especially in such a private area. It’s a really disturbing thing for anyone to get their hands on this now.”
“There must be a lot of people visiting that toilet.”
Leicestershire Police said it was notified of the restaurant chain’s webcam the following day.
A spokesman said: “Officers attended and the device was seized for examination.
“Further investigation was carried out into CCTV in the restaurant and staff were spoken to to identify the person responsible.
“Our staff were also advised to remain vigilant.”
A spokesman for Giggling Restaurants, the company that runs the restaurant, said a customer reported a “suspicious object” to staff the night it was found.
They said: “Our staff did the right thing and notified the police immediately, and the item was now in police possession.
“We are cooperating fully with their investigation.”
The victim added that she hopes sharing her experience will save other people from becoming targets.
“I’m trying to get people to think when they go into public settings, they look everywhere, even places we wouldn’t even think would be unsafe,” he said.
“When I talk to people about it it’s not something that comes to anyone’s mind, no one looks under the toilet seat or does a little scan before using the toilet.
“If this helps someone catch it before it escalates, then great.”
