SINGAPORE - Two undergraduates who intervened when they realised women were being targeted by voyeurs were lauded by the Public Transport Security Command (TransCom).

Mr Lee Jun Jie, 25, and Mr Chan Heng Wei, 23, were among 15 people who received the Public Spiritedness Award (PSA) from TransCom this month.

They were recognised for their efforts to assist the police in incidents which happened on public transport.

Mr Lee was late for class and stuck on a crowded train on March 16, when he spotted a man behaving suspiciously.

The man, who was standing, had been adjusting his briefcase which was placed on the floor near a woman.

Mr Lee noticed there was a phone placed on the briefcase, and the man was positioning it under the skirt of the female passenger, who was also standing.

The 25-year-old, who was then a student of Singapore Management University, confronted the man, who looked to be in his late 20s, and demanded to see his phone.

On it, Mr Lee found several upskirt photos of the woman.

After the woman confirmed, she wanted the matter to be reported to the police, Mr Lee escorted the man out of the train and reported the incident to TransCom officers at MacPherson MRT station.

The man was subsequently arrested for insulting the modesty of a woman.

Speaking to the media on Wednesday (Dec 30), Mr Lee, who has since graduated and is now working as a supply chain planner, said: "I wasn't really shocked because in my NS (national service) days I was a police officer, so I regularly encountered these kinds of crime... But the normal procedure as a member of the public is to inform the right authorities and let them address accordingly."

He added: "I was surprised that the guy was very cooperative."

Mr Chan, a Singapore University of Social Sciences finance undergraduate, was walking towards Ang Mo Kio MRT station on Oct 15 to take the train into town for a late night study session when he noticed a man point his phone under a woman's skirt on the escalator.

Mr Chan alerted the MRT staff before getting on the same train carriage as the man and woman.

Mr Chan then told the woman that he had seen the man taking upskirt photos of her.

Police later found the man and arrested him.

Mr Chan said: "I know of friends who don't wear safety shorts under their skirts and I wouldn't want this to happen to them."

Commander of TransCom, Deputy Assistant Commissioner of Police Fanny Koh Bee Yuan, said of the PSA recipients: "They have showcased the strong partnership between the police and the community that will continue to help keep the public transport network safe and secure."

Public action is not always straightforward.

In November last year, several concerned residents restrained a 46-year-old man who was allegedly spotted taking upskirt videos of a woman at Little India MRT station.

Five people detained him in Niven Road after a short chase.

When police officers arrived at the scene, the suspect was motionless and had no pulse. Officers performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation on the man until paramedics from the Singapore Civil Defence Force arrived.

But he was pronounced dead.

In the subsequent hearing, State Coroner Kamala Ponnampalam found that the members of the public had not used excessive force and his death was due to a "natural disease process".

But she added that it is preferred and safer for the police to handle such matters.

Responding to queries from The Straits Times, the police said that whenever possible, members of the public should report any suspected criminal activity to them first, adding: "Community involvement remains an essential pillar in our fight against crime."

But in some situations, police said members of the public may be able to intervene to prevent or mitigate loss to life and property, or the harm caused from the crime, before officers arrive.

However, they should act lawfully and not put themselves or others in harm's way, and alert the police as soon as possible.