Keep your hands to yourself: Netizens laud man who defended woman from handsy train passenger

Was this man sleeping on the train?

Not quite, a fellow passenger, Dwayne Low, noted. For five minutes, he watched the other feign slumber, inching closer and closer towards a woman seated next to him.

In an Instagram story yesterday (Nov 17), Low recounted how the uncle was leaning towards the female passenger, with his hand and shoulder oddly close to her, during a train ride.

"The lady was obviously uncomfortable and didn't dare to speak up," he wrote.

A photo attached showed the uncle with his hand on the woman's seat, while she leaned away from him.

[embed]https://www.facebook.com/sabrina.low.754/posts/10158272439088525[/embed]

When he 'woke up' and shifted towards her again, Low stood up and confronted him.

Though the man moved away without a word, Low said he "didn't even seem apologetic and just went back to sleep."

Low urged women not to tolerate such behaviour and also asked those who witnessed a similar scenario to step up for the victim.

"A good deed will go a long way," he added.

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Low's post, which was reposted on Facebook by his sister on the same day, quickly went viral, garnering over 11,000 shares in less than a day.

Many netizens praised Low for defending the woman despite being mere strangers. Some also pointed out how victims, in such situations, might not dare to speak up. By sticking up for the female passenger, they added, Low had saved her from a potentially traumatising experience.

When asked by another netizen why he didn't report the uncle to the police, Low explained he would have done so if the man refused to heed his warning.

After all, inappropriate touching, or rather, the outrage of modesty, carries a punishment of imprisonment of up to two years, a fine, caning or any combination of the aforementioned.

In the past, the police displayed anti-molestation posters at various train stations and within public transportation, saying that the objective was to "drive home the point that outrage of modesty is an egregious offence with serious penalties." 

rainercheung@asiaone.com