Women traumatised by man touching himself on bus
What started like any other bus ride for three young women became a traumatic experience after a man sitting opposite them allegedly touched himself inappropriately.
Ms Jorene Ng, 20, her sister Jovern, 20, and their friend Gwendelyn Seah, 22, had boarded bus 225G at the Bedok Interchange at about 12.05am on Monday.
They had just ended their shift at work and were heading home, said Ms Ng, who declined to reveal their occupations.
“We were among the first to enter the bus. The man followed us and chose the seat directly facing us,” she told The New Paper yesterday.
“He then placed his right hand inside his pants and proceeded (to touch) himself while looking directly at us.”
She said about six other commuters on board did not notice what was happening because the man had used his bag to shield his actions.
“We felt disgusted by his actions and approached the bus captain, who stopped the bus and stood up (to) take a look. (When he) noticed the man’s hand was no longer in his pants, he resumed the journey.”
Feeling traumatised and unsafe, the women alighted at the next stop at Block 535 Bedok North Street 3.
“The man alighted at the same stop as we did, but he walked off in another direction,” said Ms Ng.
After she made a police report, they walked home instead of waiting for another bus.
Responding to queries by TNP, the police confirmed yesterday that a report was made. A 29-year-old man is assisting with their investigations.
Ms Ng, who shared their experience on Facebook, said that most of the comments sympathised with them, but some people were “judging us by what we were wearing or the amount of make-up on our faces”.
She subsequently clarified in the post that they were wearing non-revealing clothes.
“Even if there was any skin revealed, no guy should be doing such acts in public. This is disrespectful towards women and it is absolutely outrageous,” she wrote.
Posting photos of the man wearing a Foodpanda jacket, Ms Ng said she hopes the food delivery platform would “pursue the matter”.
A Foodpanda spokesman told TNP yesterday: “Upon our internal investigation, we can confirm the individual captured in the photo was a former employee dismissed a month ago.”
The spokesman added that the photos were “disturbing” and that Foodpanda has reached out to Ms Ng to offer its support.
Confirming that Foodpanda had informed her the man is a former employee, Ms Ng said that while she does not have a phobia of taking the bus, she feels “traumatised as it was the first time such an incident had happened to me”.
“I decided to speak up on Facebook against the man’s horrific act to warn other women. I was disgusted at first, but now I’m relieved knowing that the police are handling the matter.”
Get The New Paper on your phone with the free TNP app. Download from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store now
