STOMPer Alex was appalled when MRT station staff did not seem to care when he apprehended and brought a pervert to their attention. “I can’t be watching him all the time,” said the security officer after the sexual offender escaped from her sight.

In an email to STOMP today (Dec 1), the STOMPer says:

“An incident occurred today that has left me highly sceptical of our public transport safety.

“I was on a packed evening peak hour train when I saw a man standing with his private part out of his pants and pressing it against another girl.

“She was unaware, busy sending text messages while probably thinking that whatever was touching her behind was an umbrella or some other object.

“I shouted at him and he squeezed himself hurriedly amidst the passengers and zipped up before I could grab a hold of him. After a small scuffle, I brought him out of the train when it arrived at Bugis. As he was constantly trying to struggle free, I had no time to talk to the victim as the train moved off, with her still inside.

“Then, I made the matter known to the station staff, who called the police. Thereafter, their handling of the situation got way out of hand in so many ways.

“When I was making a call, I made sure one of the white-uniformed security staff was aware of him. The officer was even standing right beside the offender.

“After finishing my quick call, I turned around to find the offender gone. The security officer did not even notice that the offender had gone. I then exclaimed, ‘How could you let him get away?’ She replied, ‘I can't be watching him all the time’.

“After the senseless reply from the uncaring security officer, I sprinted to the train platforms, trying to look for the offender amongst the peak hour crowd. None of the station people assisted me. Watching the flow of commuter traffic seemed to be more important than the offensive sexual incident at hand.

“Thanks to their lackadaisical attitude, the guy successfully escaped.

“I went back up to find that the station staff had called the police back, asking them not to come anymore. Erm, hello? Just because he escaped, doesn't mean we should let the matter go and allow a sex criminal to roam scot-free and hurt others! Frustrated, I made a call myself asking for the police to come down to the train station.

“When the police finally arrived, they took me to a room to take my statement down. The cops told me that in such situations, the station staff are supposed to bring the offender into one of the station's detaining rooms to wait for the police's arrival. Not only did the station staff fail to do that, they also failed to keep an eye on him.

“In my opinion, the station staff did not seem to have been guided by any protocol with regards to dealing with public security.

“I can only hope that the relevant authorities are taking measures to deal with such incidents in future, and that members of the public will keep a vigilant lookout for their fellow commuters.”