Commuters recognised for helping to catch upskirters
Twelve people receive Public Spiritedness Awards for intervening in 10 cases of crime, eight involving upskirt images
A man who took upskirt photos of a woman at Paya Lebar MRT station was caught after she and another woman chased him.
The 35-year-old suspect was later arrested for public nuisance and insulting the modesty of a woman.
Ms Chiang Su Sia, 42, a finance manager, helped inform the victim and the station staff and helped chase the suspect.
She was one of 12 recipients of the Public Spiritedness Awards at a ceremony held at the Public Transport Security Command (TransCom) yesterday.
The recipients intervened in 10 cases of crime from July to October, with eight involving upskirt images.
At about 6.20pm on Sept 30, Ms Chiang was on an escalator when she saw a man placing his phone under the skirt of a woman in her 20s.Ms Chiang informed the victim and the two women chased the man.
Speaking to the media yesterday, Ms Chiang said the petite victim insisted on getting a photo of the suspect.
"She was very small, but was very angry and wanted to catch the guy," she said.
They saw the man enter the train's last cabin, and the victim entered a cabin further away to catch him inside.
But as the train doors closed on the victim, Ms Chiang, who did not board the train, saw the man alight from it. She informed a station staff member and the man was detained.
Ms Chiang said: "He tried to delete the photos and claimed he was innocent, challenging me to find proof. But the police later found evidence."
In another case that day at Bishan MRT station at about 9pm, Mr Jimmy Loy, 38, who works in construction, grabbed a foreign worker taking an upskirt video of a woman on an escalator.
"He begged me to let him ago, claiming he had young children to provide for," he said.
When the police arrived, they found more upskirt videos and female undergarments believed to have been stolen.
The man was arrested for public nuisance, insulting the modesty of a woman and possession of fraudulent property.
The other six upskirt cases from August to October also happened on public transport.
Ms Chiang said: "It is encouraging to see more women standing up to such people."
The 12 award recipients were appointed Riders-On-Watch volunteers and will act as the eyes and ears of the police on the ground.
Deputy Commander of TransCom, Assistant Commissioner of Police Evon Ng, praised them saying: "Together with the police, commuters can make perpetrators think twice before committing any crimes on the public transport network."
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