Rapid KL LRT operators Prasarana has clarified that its auxiliary police personnel tried to apprehend the suspect who allegedly molested a female passenger on Dec 14, but were unsuccessful.
According to Prasarana communications head Lim Jin Aun, the auxiliary police chased after the suspect upon receiving a complaint from the victim.
The matter was first highlighted by Twitter user Dhabitah Zainal, who narrated the assault faced by her friend when the LRT was en route to Masjid Jamek from Pasar Seni.
The perpetrator was alleged to have rubbed his penis against the victim, but Rapid KL's staff was said to have allowed the perpetrator to escape.
According to Lim, Prasarana staff have met the victim and assured her that the incident would be thoroughly investigated.
Four harassment cases
Lim also revealed that there were four incidents of harassment reported on Rapid KL rail networks last Thursday.
"The suspect involved in three of the cases was arrested not long after the people who were harassed approached the auxiliary police at the stations," he said.
In total, Prasarana had sought 22 suspects involved in sexual harassment cases this year, of which 21 were apprehended.
"Most of these suspects were caught within several days after the incidents were reported," said Lim.
He said the public transport network managed by Prasarana serve more than one million commuters daily and as such the organisation was "bound to face unwelcome incidents."
However, he assured commuters that Prasarana's auxiliary police maintains "omnipresence" in uniform as well as in plainclothes.
Social media spotlight not helping
Meanwhile, Lim said that some reactions on social media towards such incidents may jeopardise investigations.
"While we understand and appreciate the anxiety of such incidents among members of the public, particularly those who reacted on social media, we need to take note that the attention generated..might also hamper the efforts of the authorities in apprehending the suspects.
"While sharing the incident in the social media would generate awareness among members of the public, we do not want the suspect to give us the slip upon knowing of the publicity generated," Lim added.
In an immediate reaction, Dhabitha wrote on Twitter that maintaining silence on social media was not possible.
"Apparently, Prasarana thinks that the attention garnered might hamper the authorities' chances of apprehending the suspect.
"Sorry. I don't agree with this. While it's important to catch the perpetrator, it's also equally important to inform others that this is going on," she said.
I didn't expect my tweet to blow up but I'm glad it did. Reasons: 1) Even I myself wouldn't have known that 4 cases happened on that day; 2) I received SO MANY dm's from girls who experienced the same thing. Some of them reported but apparently weren't taken very seriously.
I met with the prasarana team a day after the incident and brought this matter to them. They said that some cases were difficult to solve because the victims typically won't proceed all the way through. And yet I received dm's stating the opposite. Bukan sorang dua ok, ramai.
- Mkini
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