Ryan Cho: Doctor accused of filming staff in toilets denied bail

A junior doctor accused of secretly filming hundreds of hospital staff through a phone concealed in a bathroom has been refused bail.

Ryan Cho, 28, made the bail application at Melbourne Magistrates Court on Friday evening after he was charged with another five offences including producing an intimate image.

He was first arrested on July 10 after a phone concealed in a mesh bag was discovered in a staff toilet at the Austin Hospital in Melbourne’s northeast.

Cho was initially charged with offences including stalking but was released on bail, with police seizing his two mobile phones, a laptop, several white mesh bags and removable hooks.

He was arrested for a second time on Friday after police analysed the devices and allegedly uncovered more than 10,000 videos and images.

It’s alleged the files were categorised into different folders referencing the Austin Hospital, the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre and the Royal Melbourne Hospital.

Other sub-folders also carried the names of alleged victims, Senior Constable Neral Baykur told the court.

The material, created between 2021 and 2025, allegedly shows staff using the toilet or shower facilities, with their genital and anal areas exposed.

Sen Const Baykur told the court the majority of the alleged victims appeared to be female doctors, nurses and paramedics, while some videos looked to be in a residential setting.

The officer described Cho as being “calculated and obsessed” as she opposed his application for bail on Friday.

Sen Const Baykur told the court the 28-year-old was an unacceptable risk of endangering the safety of the public and absconding while on bail, given he has no close ties in Victoria.

Cho is a citizen of Singapore and has been living in Australia as a permanent resident after completing a medical degree from Monash University, the court was told.

Sen Const Baykur said Cho had been suspended from working as a junior surgeon, so he no longer had any ties to work and was unable to find steady accommodation.

Staff at the Austin also felt unsafe in their workplace, with many workers no longer comfortable using the staff toilets, the officer said.

Cho’s lawyer George Balot conceded the allegations were serious and the prosecution had a strong case.

But he argued the risks alleged by the police could be reduced through bail conditions including a ban on Cho using a phone and strict supervision.

Cho’s parents flew in from Singapore ahead of Friday’s hearing and his father, Wilson, told the court they were willing to stay in Australia to support their son.

The parents offered a $10,000 bail guarantee and said they would closely monitor Cho if he was bailed.

Mr Balot also argued his client was already seeking support from a psychologist and sexologist, and that treatment would be more difficult if he was in custody.

Magistrate James Henderson accepted Cho was a young man with no prior criminal history who had the support of his family.

But he ultimately found the risk to the community could not be reduced through stringent bail conditions and refused Cho bail.

The 28-year-old was remanded in custody until November.

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