TRIGGER WARNING
The content below contains sexual harassment experiences that may be harmful or traumatizing for some.
Following the #MeToo movement and the sexual harassment incident at Maluri LRT Station lately, a Malaysian woman, who preferred to be known as Lee, posted on her RED (小红书) about her experience of being molested at Glenmarie LRT Station back in 2017.
The incident occurred during regular working hours, as the victim was commuting via the escalator.
Suddenly, a random stranger inappropriately touched her buttock from behind, leaving her in shock and terror.
Lee screamed in fright and tears, demanding an explanation for his actions, but he simply dismissed her, denying any wrongdoing.
Helpless
What made the situation, even more, disheartening was that, despite being surrounded by numerous onlookers, nobody intervened or offered help.
Lee felt utterly helpless and vulnerable at that moment. Eventually, a compassionate Malay girl approached her and inquired about the situation.
The victim confided in her, revealing the harassment she had endured. To the victim’s disbelief, the harasser boldly justified his actions, attributing it to her slow pace on the escalator.
The man arrogantly said he pushed me because I was slow. He admitted touching me.”
Flee the Scene
In an attempt to collect evidence, the victim took out her phone to film the harasser, causing him to flee hastily.
Determined to seek justice, she chased him through the LRT station, crying and searching for him in every carriage, only to be met with curious and judgmental gazes from the other passengers.
Ultimately, unable to find the perpetrator, the victim experienced an emotional breakdown. However, amidst the callous crowd, a few kind individuals offered her a seat and tissues, yet nobody inquired about her well-being or what had transpired.
It was only after mustering the courage to reach out to RapidKL’s customer service for CCTV footage that she realized the escalator cameras did not capture the incident.
Instead, the footage revealed the harasser passing through the LRT station and escaping to the opposite parking lot via a pedestrian bridge.
“It is common”
Upon contacting her mother and explaining the situation to her employer about the delay, she was startled by their reactions.
Both of them nonchalantly dismissed the incident as something ordinary, stating that they had also experienced similar harassment in the past.
Following this, a self-proclaimed policeman contacted her, acknowledging the report lodged by RapidKL after her request to them.
The decision to lodge a formal police report was said to be entirely up to her when she asked the policeman about it.
Conflicted and perhaps influenced by her mother’s and supervisor’s experiences, the victim chose not to report the incident to the authorities, a decision she deeply regrets now.
Speaking to WeirdKaya, she said that her post aims to help and let girls know who to contact when such incidents happen in the future.
They should lodge a police report and not just keep quiet like me. I feel sorry for myself over the years.”
#MeToo
In the comment section, besides many netizens supporting and feeling pity for Lee’s encounter. Some other victims voiced out their similar experiences too.
One said she was also touched by a foreign worker but was a bit late in reaction to catch the suspect red-handed due to shock.
Another victim who was also disheartened after being told that such incidents are common shared how her chest was stared at and her buttock was bumped into a stranger’s private part.
My mother told me it’s normal, all of them experienced it. … … I don’t understand why females have to keep quiet when they were offended like this. … …They said it’s just small movements, not considered sexual harassment.”
One victim shared how she was traumatised and dare not take a public bus anymore after a random old man held her hands at 2 am out of a sudden. Similarly, her ex-boyfriend’s mother said she was overreacting.
“It is normal. How are you going to survive in this society if you cannot handle it?”
Another girl said a foreign worker pinched her buttock at a monorail station. She expressed how clueless and helpless she was at the moment and still does not know what to do if such cases occur again.
All in all, to all sexual harassment victims out there, you are not alone and it is not wrong or abnormal to feel uncomfortable with such experiences. Please seek professional help when you need it.
**WeirdKaya would like to thank Lee for the willingness to share her experience for raising awareness.
Read more:
A 24-year-old Japanese man dressed in a Joker outfit has been arrested for attempted murder after stabbing commuters onboard Tokyo’s Keio Line train and setting it on fire during Halloween (Oct 31).
The train was en route to Shinjuku, where a majority of the commuters were heading for Halloween celebrations.
Lit the train on fire after stabbing rampage
According to local media reports, the suspect was holding a kitchen knife and a plastic bottle as he wandered within the train.
Bloomberg reported that he then sank his knife into the right chest of a passenger in his 70s before setting the train on fire with lighter liquid.
16 other people were also reported to have suffered minor injuries, including smoke inhalation.
Horrifying footage surfaces online
It took little time for chilling photos and videos of the incident to be uploaded on Twitter, horrifying many.
In one of the videos, passengers could be seen fleeing to the train cabin coupled with terrified screams in the background.
京王線社内で火災発生 pic.twitter.com/94cLtJkDy4
— しずくβ (@siz33) October 31, 2021
Some also tried escaping from the windows.
京王線火災で逃げる人々 pic.twitter.com/ZfN1pD0C2V
— しずくβ (@siz33) October 31, 2021
Authorities later showed up at the scene to put the situation under control.
京王線火災（テロ？）規制線が貼られました pic.twitter.com/TJDkIef0EO
— しずくβ (@siz33) October 31, 2021
‘I want the death penalty’
The Japan Metropolitan Police Department has since confirmed that they have arrested a 24-year-old the suspect.
The suspect, identified as Kyota Hattori, was first sighted in a video calming smoking a cigarette prior to the stabbings while dressed as the antagonist from Batman.
Hattori also reportedly told police that he “wanted to kill people so that [he] would be sentenced to death”.
The attack has since shaken the relatively safe country, with government spokesman Hirokazu Matsuno slamming the incident as “atrocious and brutal”.
It’s unrelated to the article but here’s our brand-new podcast – Talk Je Lah!
Cover Images via Twitter
Editor: Sarah Yeoh
