A 38-year-old schoolteacher whose modesty was outraged on the MRT during rush hour two years ago still feels the shame of it, and guilt that she said nothing.
But it happened so fast and the crowd was so thick on the platform at Jurong East MRT station that Ms Julia (not her real name) barely even had time to react.
She told The Sunday Times she felt a hand brush her inner thigh at first, then push up against her groin, as commuters surged forward to get on the train.
Instinctively, she slapped away the hand and quickly got on board. She said: "I didn't scream or tell anyone. I didn't even see who it was because we were all sandwiched. I was more embarrassed about people seeing what had just happened to me than feeling indignant."
She did not report it to the police, a decision that still haunts her, even though she was the victim.
Now the cops are urging victims to come forward so perpetrators can be identified and dealt with.
Annual figures released yesterday show reports of outrage of modesty had risen by 22.2 per cent, from 1,282 in 2016 to 1,566 last year.
There was also a 60.5 per cent rise in cases of molestation on public transport, totalling 207, in 2017.
Association of Women for Action and Research executive director Corinna Lim said there are more cases now because more women are making reports. "The police campaign to get more people to report molestation is to be welcomed... But there's still a lot of women who don't report," she said.
Most victims are caught off guard, added Ms Lim. They react in three ways: fight back, freeze from the shock, or flee.
Victims from Asian cultures may be less confrontational and see it as shameful to report being molested.
Others think it would be impossible to identify the culprit, said Mr Patrick Tay, an MP for West Coast GRC, who is on the Government Parliamentary Committee for Home Affairs. "Whether it is outrage of modesty on a bus or sexual harassment that occurs in the office, it requires someone to speak up. Sometimes, it requires kind-hearted people who have witnessed these crimes to get involved," he said.
Police will continue their efforts, stepping up patrols at transportation nodes, and engaging commuters on staying vigilant and raising awareness about molestation, so that the public can help detect and deter such crimes, said Criminal Investigation Department head Tan Chye Hee.
He said at yesterday's briefing: "We also work with public transport operators to put up posters on trains, to screen crime prevention videos at bus interchanges as well as the train platforms."
Police hope victims will report cases early; tell someone like a bus captain or MRT staff, they advise.
The surveillance cameras at MRT stations and bus interchanges could provide corroboration of victim and witness testimonies.
In Tokyo, some trains have carriages only for women, said Mr Tay, adding: "Segregating passengers is possibly one idea. But it all depends on how crowded our trains are. This has to be studied."
