Woman catches man who allegedly masturbated next to her in Chinatown, encourages others to stand up for themselves
A woman had her fury ignited by a man who allegedly masturbated right next to her in Chinatown on 15 Aug and personally caught him later that day.
She urged other girls and women to stand up for themselves in such situations and make sure their sexual harassers get arrested.
Woman yells at man who allegedly masturbated beside her, takes photo of him
The 34-year-old, who wished to be referred to as Cheryl, told MS News that the incident occurred when she stepped outside her office in Hong Lim Complex for a smoke break.
At around 4pm, an “old man” went up beside her while she leaned against a fence. She initially thought he was shaking his shirt to cool down from the heat.
When she took a step back, she was shocked to realise that he was actually masturbating.
“Then I was like, hell, I have to shout at him and stop him,” Ms Cheryl recounted to MS News.
Source: @xuerylg on Instagram
She yelled at the man, which allegedly did not stop him from continuing the obscene act. Ms Cheryl subsequently pulled out her phone to snap a photo for a police report, and the man then left.
She initially calmed down and intended to make an online police report, only for her anger to build as she thought about it.
I got daughters, leh. How can I just let him get away like that?
Feeling he would still be nearby, she went out to look for him but could not find the man.
Woman too angry to care when man threatens to beat her after getting caught
Unsatisfied, Ms Cheryl went on the hunt again at 4.30pm. This time, she spotted him on the second storey of Hong Lim Market & Food Centre.
She informed her female colleague and called the police before rushing up there herself.
Source: Cheryl Goh on Facebook
“I grabbed his shirt, and there was no way I was going to let him go,” Ms Cheryl told MS News.
The man allegedly apologised and claimed he was drunk, but Ms Cheryl refused to accept his excuse. Instead, she angrily rained down every vulgarity she knew on him.
Her female colleague then arrived, and the two of them kept him there while waiting for the police.
Ms Cheryl claimed that he remorselessly continued making sexual comments and staring at their bodies.
Source: Cheryl Goh on Facebook
Afterwards, he began to get “really aggressive” with his words and even supposedly threatened to beat them.
MS News queried Ms Cheryl on whether she considered the possible danger of restraining the man.
“Honestly, no. I was quite angry and very sure that I wanted to find him and hand him over to the police. When he walked away the first time, I was already very pissed off,” she replied.
Instead, she scolded him back when he cussed at them.
Police arrest 59-year-old man
Eventually, the police arrived and handcuffed the suspect.
Source: @xuerylg on Instagram
In response to queries from MS News, the Singapore Police Force (SPF) said it received a call for assistance at about 4.40pm on 15 Aug, along Upper Cross Street.
A 59-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of committing an obscene act in a public place.
Police investigations are ongoing.
Woman hopes others stand up for themselves and ensure harassers get caught
Looking back on the incident, Ms Cheryl felt that she should have caught him on the spot when he first performed the obscene act, as it was “luck” that she found him again later.
I also want to tell girls: don’t be scared if you encounter something like this. Shout, get help and, if you can, make sure these kinds of people get caught.
As a mother of three, she hoped that none of her children would encounter something like this.
However, if it does happen, Ms Cheryl hoped they would also stand up for themselves and not be afraid.
After uploading her story on social media, she was grateful to receive support from netizens in the comments section.
Source: Instagram
With that said, she told MS News that she also read some “unnecessary comments” on whether she was attractive enough for the man to masturbate next to.
Source: Instagram
Ms Cheryl said the comments missed the point that it was wrong to commit an indecent act, no matter who he did it beside.
I’m just a normal 34-year-old mother who believes that this kind of behaviour shouldn’t be ignored. I did what I felt was right — caught him and handed him over to the police.
Also read: 11-year-old girl stumbled upon naked man masturbating at public staircase in S’pore
11-year-old girl stumbled upon naked man masturbating at public staircase in S’pore
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Featured image adapted from @xuerylg on Instagram.
