Predator plants $40 Amazon spy pen in luxury cruise ship bathroom

A man has admitted to planting a spy camera he purchased on Amazon in the unisex bathrooms of a luxury cruise ship.

Cruise ships are floating behemoths brimming with activities and entertainment. Guests stay aboard for a few days to a few weeks, traveling the world by sea.

While most guests don’t have bad intentions, others leverage the isolation of sea travel and the close proximity to other passengers to live out their sick fantasies.

If you’re on board with a predator, there are very few opportunities to disembark and escape a creepy passenger.

Robert Qi Peng, a US citizen, seemed to know this and used the amenities provided by Celebrity Beyond cruises to spy on innocent women and children.

In a criminal complaint, an FBI agent detailed the exact way Peng filmed his victims on board the luxury vessel, and how he did it shows that just about anyone can film people in vulnerable moments without their consent.

Peng, who has been accused of video voyeurism, planted a pen featuring a hidden camera in the mixed bathroom on board the ship.

The device was later found by a cleaning attendant who discovered the pen amongst discarded towels.

The cleaner raised the issue with security on board, and the team worked backward to determine who entered the bathroom during a certain time frame.

Ship security narrowed their investigation down to nine potential passengers, one being Peng, who was seen entering the bathroom multiple times.

Once the evidence was secured, FBI agents reviewed the footage and found someone, appearing to be Peng, readjusting the angle of the spy camera to show the toilets.

The spy camera pen captured 90 minutes of footage containing non-consensual footage of women and children entering and using the bathroom.

Peng was then interviewed by agents and, after an unknown amount of time, admitted to planting the pen camera.

The passenger admitted to purchasing the pen camera along with a wristwatch and a key fob that were also capable of secretly recording people.

When agents did a forensic search of Peng’s laptop, they discovered more footage of victims using the toilet.

Peng admitted that he planted the spy camera for the first time on March 30th, 2026, as the ship sailed between Miami, Florida, and the Dominican Republic.

These devices are freely available to buy via Amazon’s website and are marketed as “spy camera pens,” suggesting that the tech and ecommerce giant is aware that these devices are being used to spy on people.

Amazon even put a spy camera pen under the “Amazon’s Choice” category. The product is less than $40, has over 280 reviews, and a 4.2-star rating.

Some reviews suggest that if users want to “prank” or “look cool in front of friends,” they should buy the product.

Others have said that the pen is great for “basic surveillance” and is “extremely discreet.”

Amazon itself says the gadget is “small enough to hide anywhere,” which seemingly encourages users to use it without fear of getting caught.

But, as Peng realized, his spy camera pen wasn’t discreet enough for him not to get caught.

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