[(Photo above) TOO CLOSE: Miss Ma's boyfriend, Eric, showing how the man allegedly touched her shoulder. PICTURE: LIANHE WANBAO]

A BEAUTICIAN has claimed that after she was molested on a bus, her alleged attacker got away because the driver let him go.

Miss Ma Liyan, a 21-year-old Chinese national, alleged that the driver did this despite being told that she wanted to call the police.

The alleged incident happened on SBS service 7 travelling along Holland Road at about 10pm on 21Jul.

Miss Ma told Lianhe Wanbao that a man two seats in front of her suddenly turned around and greeted her.

She said he looked to be in his 30s, wore a dark-coloured short-sleeved shirt and reeked of alcohol.

When she did not reply, he made obscene gestures at her and taunted her for leaving China to work here, Miss Ma claimed.

As she continued ignoring him, he got up, walked over to her, touched her shoulder and pulled at her clothes.

Miss Ma said she burst into tears.

The bus driver, who had just stopped his vehicle at a bus stop, heard the commotion, stepped out of his cabin and approached them.

Miss Ma said the driver told the man to follow him to the front of the bus.

She claimed the two talked for a while before the driver opened the door to let the man off.

The man continued to make gestures at her until the bus pulled away, Miss Ma claimed.

Police report

She later filed a complaint with SBS Transit and made a police report.

A police spokesman confirmed the report and said investigations are ongoing.

When The New Paper called Miss Ma, she was busy with work. Her 23-year-old boyfriend, a Chinese national who wanted to be known only as Eric, corroborated her account over the phone.

He said they were upset with how the bus driver had handled the matter.

Replying to The New Paper's queries, SBS Transit's vice-president of corporate communications, Ms Tammy Tan, said that investigations - which included viewing CCTV footage from the bus - showed that the man had got off the bus by himself, and that the driver had not let him off.

'The bus captain heard a man talking loudly on the lower deck of the bus,' she said.

Ms Tan said the driver saw in his rear-view mirror that the man was bothering a female passenger seated two rows behind him.

'He also noted that the man had shown her some rude hand gestures,' she added.

Shortly after, the bus stopped near the Botanic Gardens for a passenger to board.

The footage showed the man stepping forward and speaking to the driver after Miss Ma asked the latter to alert the police.

The man pleaded with the driver not to call the police, Ms Tan said.

When the driver said it was not possible, the man got off the bus as the doors were open.

'The bus captain beckoned the man to get back on the bus while calling the Operations Control Centre,' Ms Tan said.

'Meanwhile, passengers on the upper deck hollered for the bus captain to continue with the journey.

'As the man had alighted, the bus captain continued with the journey as he assumed the lady would no longer require police assistance given that the man was no longer on board to disturb her.'

The driver was also 'unaware of any physical contact (between the man and Miss Ma) as no one had alerted him to this', Ms Tan added.

What are bus drivers supposed to do when a passenger reports a crime?

Ms Tan said the driver 'will detain the culprit and contact the Operations Control Centre for assistance'.

The centre will notify the police while a traffic inspector will be activated to go to the scene to provide support.

SMRT said its bus drivers can drive to the nearest police station to seek help.

Drivers are also 'taught to seek help from passengers to detain the offender', the SMRT spokesman added.

But lawyer Michael Palmer said that the bus driver was not legally obligated to detain Miss Ma's alleged molester.

He added that no civilian is legally obligated to detain a suspected culprit in any location under any circumstances.

--Hoe Pei Shan, newsroom intern

This article was first published in The New Paper.

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