The only obstacle most people face on their commute across the Causeway is usually a massive traffic jam.
But a Malaysian lady who was on her way home from work in Singapore encountered a different situation on Tuesday (25 Jun).
Her bus suddenly stopped when the driver decided to ‘check’ on it, and later tried to sexually assault her.
The 21-year-old Malaysian lady had stopped at the Sultan Iskandar Customs, Immigration and Quarantine Complex (CIQ) in Johor Bahru (JB) on her way home from Singapore.
She spotted a factory workers’ bus and boarded it at about 12.30am on Tuesday.
As soon as she got on board, she noticed how empty it was aside from the driver, but didn’t think anything of it.
She sat in the second row of seats near the front of the bus and waited, thinking more passengers would come.
But nobody came, and the bus drove off soon after with just her on board.
After driving a short distance, the bus abruptly stopped at the road shoulder in front of McDonald’s Taman Sutera, on the path towards Skudai-Senai.
The driver explained that he had to check on the condition of the bus, which he claimed was faulty.
Feeling uneasy about the situation, the lady asked the driver to open the doors so she could alight, but he refused.
Instead, he proceeded to draw the curtains, remove his pants, and move quickly towards her.
Once he got close enough, he tried to embrace her and allegedly attempted to rape her too, but failed as the lady kicked him.
She ran to the driver’s seat and tried to open the doors but couldn’t, and turned the engine on instead, in a moment of panic.
Startled by the engine running, the now fearful driver finally opened the doors and allowed her to alight. The shaken lady immediately contacted her father for help.
Later that evening, the lady filed a report detailing the incident to the JB police, but the status of investigations are currently unclear.
For now, she hopes that her experience has served as a warning to other Malaysians working in Singapore to be careful.
Hopefully, the police will apprehend the driver soon, so nobody else will fall into his trap.
Featured image from Google Maps and Facebook on Flickr.
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