A hidden camera seized by police was still recording as laughing officers mocked Asian accents and made derogatory comments, including "that is a f---ing tiny dick", as they watched videos that showed a man's genitals.
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A court has heard at least five officers viewed footage captured by the device, which a female student had discovered in a shower in a shared bathroom at the Australian National University in June 2020.
Junqi Huang, the former president of the ANU Super Brain Society, has been charged over the placement of the camera.
The 23-year-old Chinese national has pleaded not guilty to attempting intimate observations or attempting to capture visual data in an invasion of privacy.
When Mr Huang fronted the ACT Magistrates Court on Friday, defence barrister Kieran Ginges played a number of clips filmed by the device after police had collected it from an ANU residential hall.
Little can be seen in these videos, which were recorded inside the City Police Station in Civic, because the camera was wrapped in a glove within which it had been seized.
But police officers can be heard laughing and saying things like "it's penis time", "I have a micro penis" and "you've got me hard, bro" as they watched videos from the device.
One of them was captured saying "he so Asian" while seeming to put on an accent.
Some of the footage filmed prior to the device's seizure showed a man alleged to be Mr Huang placing it in numerous locations and appearing to test it, on some occasions exposing his genitals.
In another comment captured on video after police had taken possession of the camera, an officer suggested Mr Huang had been "lodged on a bullshit charge".
Mr Huang's solicitor, Peter Woodhouse, told The Canberra Times outside court the police officers making these remarks had engaged in "racist, offensive conduct that is totally unacceptable".
"It suggests there is an insidious problem in the [Australian Federal Police] that needs to be addressed immediately," he said.
"The fact that officers were clearly standing around, laughing and vilifying a young suspect is outrageous.
"We call on AFP Professional Standards and the ACT Human Rights Commission to investigate."
Responding to questions from The Canberra Times, an ACT Policing spokeswoman said the matter had been "placed into our complaints management system" for review as a result of the current court proceedings.
"ACT Policing does not tolerate racism and sanctions for officers who are found to have engaged in such conduct range from formal counselling through to dismissal," she said.
Mr Ginges argued in court the clips of the police officers cast doubt on the probity of their investigation.
He said "no DNA, no fingerprints, no analysis of anything was taken", suggesting investigators failed to adequately explore the possibility someone else had put the camera in the ANU shower.
In support of this, Mr Ginges cited the recorded comments of an officer who said: "I don't know how you can't make admissions to it. Like, it's pretty damning."
The court had earlier heard evidence from the student who said she had found the camera in a shower cubicle at the residential hall both she and Mr Huang lived in at the relevant time.
The woman, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, said on Friday she was "very afraid" after discovering the device.
She said she had put it in one of her pockets to ensure the lens was "100 per cent surrounded by my clothes" before having a shower and later giving it to the head of the ANU residential hall.
Mr Ginges questioned why someone so scared would go ahead with showering instead of reporting the discovery first.
The woman responded she had been worried someone was waiting outside the cubicle "to threaten my life", so she messaged a friend and asked him to come and check whether it was safe before emerging.
Asked by Mr Ginges whether she was exaggerating this fear, the woman replied: "Not really."
She also denied "laughing and joking" about what she had found, saying she could be seen smiling on CCTV as she left the bathroom because that was how she dealt with feelings of nervousness.
The hearing was originally only set down for one day, but it did not conclude on Friday and will therefore resume before Special Magistrate Jane Campbell on July 29.
Mr Huang remains on bail ahead of that date.
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