CRIMINAL lawyer Adrian Wee, from Characterist LLC, said it is not an offence to take photographs in public areas.

'The owner of a private property, like a shopkeeper, is entitled to set any rule he wants on people entering his shop,' said MrWee.

'But in a public area, there is no law against photography.'

This means that even if a person takes pictures of the merchandise which are openly displayed in a public area, it is not an offence to do so.

In fact, the shop owner has no right to chase the photographer away as long as the photographer is on public ground.

'Technically, the shopkeeper can only prevent the photographer from entering his shop, but they cannot stop someone from photographing from outside,' he said.

'Someone could be standing outside their shop and take pictures all day, and that would not be an offence.'

Zoom

If a photographer uses a zoom lens to shoot the interior of the shop, it is also not illegal.

The same goes for taking the pictures of the facades of buildings like the National Library Building and the Esplanade.

In fact taking pictures on private property is also not criminal in nature.

'The person taking the pictures is only flouting the rules of the property set by the owner but this would render the person liable to be thrown out,' he said.

But Mr Wee further elaborated, if a person has been thrown out of a private property and barred from entering, then to enter the property again would be trespassing which is a criminal offence.