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SINGAPORE – The Public Transportation Security Command (TransCom) praised two university students who intervened when they realized that women were being attacked by onlookers.
Mr. Lee Jun Jie, 25, and Mr. Chan Heng Wei, 23, were among the 15 people who received TransCom’s Public Spiritedness Award (PSA) this month.
They were recognized for their efforts to assist the police in incidents that occurred on public transportation.
Mr. Lee was late to class and was stuck in a crowded train on March 16 when he saw a man behaving suspiciously.
The man, who was standing, had been adjusting his briefcase that was placed on the ground near a woman.
Mr. Lee noticed that there was a phone placed in the briefcase and that the man was placing it under the skirt of the passenger, who was also standing.
The 25-year-old, who was then a student at Singapore Management University, confronted the man, who appeared to be in his early 20s, and demanded to see his phone.
In it, Mr. Lee found several photos of the woman under her skirt.
After the woman confirmed that she wanted the matter reported to the police, Mr. Lee escorted the man off the train and reported the incident to TransCom officers at the MacPherson MRT station.
The man was subsequently arrested for insulting a woman’s modesty.
Speaking to the media on Wednesday (December 30), Mr. Lee, who graduated and now works as a supply chain planner, said, “I wasn’t really surprised because in my NS (national service) days I was police officer, so I regularly come across these kinds of crimes … But normal procedure as a member of the public is to inform the proper authorities and let them address accordingly. “
He added: “I was surprised that the guy was very cooperative.”
Chan, a finance student at Singapore University of Social Sciences, was walking to Ang Mo Kio MRT station on October 15 to catch the train into the city for an evening study session when he noticed a man pointing his phone. under the skirt of a woman on the escalator. .
Mr. Chan alerted MRT staff before boarding the same train car as the man and the woman.
Mr. Chan then told the woman that he had seen the man taking photos of her under her skirt.
Later, the police found the man and arrested him.
Mr. Chan said, “I know of friends who don’t wear safety shorts under their skirts and I wouldn’t want this to happen to them.”
TransCom Commander Deputy Deputy Commissioner of Police Fanny Koh Bee Yuan said of the PSA recipients: “They have shown the strong partnership between the police and the community that will continue to help keep the public transportation network safe and secure.”
Public action is not always straightforward.
In November last year, several concerned residents detained a 46-year-old man who was allegedly seen recording video under the skirts of a woman at the Little India MRT station.
Five people stopped him on Niven Road after a short chase.
When police officers arrived at the scene, the suspect was immobile and had no pulse. Officers performed CPR on the man until paramedics from the Singapore Civil Defense Force arrived.
But he was declared dead.
At the subsequent hearing, State Coroner Kamala Ponnampalam determined that the public had not used excessive force and that her death was due to a “natural disease process.”
But he added that it is preferable and safer for the police to handle these matters.
Responding to questions from The Straits Times, police said that whenever possible, members of the public should first inform them of any suspicious criminal activity, adding: “Community involvement remains an essential pillar in our fight against the crime”.
But in some situations, police said members of the public can intervene to prevent or mitigate loss of life and property, or damage caused by crime, before officers arrive.
However, they must act legally and not put themselves or others in danger, and alert the police as soon as possible.
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