diff --git a/official/cv/unet3d/src/transform.py b/official/cv/unet3d/src/transform.py
index c250cbbbfe3dbcf9f8748f3199ee192325e790bd..1b21c9752a2881ada8bdf76c8387ea7139d77601 100644
--- a/official/cv/unet3d/src/transform.py
+++ b/official/cv/unet3d/src/transform.py
@@ -63,7 +63,7 @@ class LoadData:
         """
         img_array = list()
         compatible_meta = dict()
-        filename = str(filename, encoding="utf-8")
+        filename = str(filename)
         filename = [filename]
         for name in filename:
             img = nib.load(name)