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Thursday, October 13, 2022

Ex-national swimmer Ong sets the law on sexual harassers

 


Former national swimmer Cindy Ong urged the public not to be silent or condone online sexual harassment as action can be taken against the perpetrators through a simple police report.

This was after two men were investigated by the authorities and charged after they made lewd comments against her.

Speaking to Malaysiakini, the 38-year-old said she encountered numerous sexual harassment and lewd online comments against her since she spoke up about her experience with sexual assault in May last year.

Ong then lodged a police report on June 21, 2021, hoping the authorities would take action to stop such attacks against her.

Based on her police report, the lewd comments were explicit, crude and offensive, and largely came from Instagram, WhatsApp, and the local online forum Lowyat.net.

According to her, the police managed to track down two perpetrators and charge them. One of the men pleaded guilty and paid a fine to the court.

However, another man who was in his 20s wanted to resolve this case in another way.

“This is a young man. After being investigated, he sent an apology letter to me via his lawyer and requested me to retract my report because he does not want to leave any record in the criminal system.

“I told him that since he made the lewd comment on a public forum, then he should issue me a public apology too. If he promises not to repeat the mistake again, then I am willing to retract my report,” Ong said.

After negotiations, she said, both parties reached a consensus to solve this case amicably through their lawyers.

Ong and her lawyer Azi Azlin Zulkifli at the Sri Hartamas police station in Kuala Lumpur

Following that, the man recorded a three-minute apology video which was shown to Ong last Friday (Oct 7) by the man’s counsel. Then, on the same day, she retracted her report at the Sri Hartamas police station in Kuala Lumpur.

During the interview, Ong stressed that she never wanted to seek revenge or humiliate any person on this matter.

“In my case, this actually set a good example to educate the public. To the perpetrator, whatever you did carries ramifications and you could be charged and fined. You will have a criminal record, so think twice before you do this.

“You might not be so lucky to have someone to forgive you, without letting you go through the court process,” she added.

Don’t let perpetrators go unpunished

At the same time, Ong expressed her gratitude and happiness for the police investigations, as this proved that perpetrators of sexual harassment cannot outrun the law.

Thus, she hoped her experience would serve as a reminder for the public, especially public figures, to not ignore or keep silent about sexual harassment.

“Everyone should know that sexual harassment is unacceptable and action can be taken against those involved. You cannot make lewd comments against public figures online and assume they are okay with it.

“I do read the comments and these really bother me. Therefore I lodged a report to have the police hunt down these perpetrators. What is done by the police has set a good precedent for combatting sexual harassment.

“I also wanted to pass this message to other public figures, especially celebrities and influencers. Whenever there is sexual harassment against you, you can lodge a police report. Never go silent. We should stop these horrendous remarks,” she stressed.

In May 2021, Ong told Malaysiakini that a former national swimming coach molested her when she was a teenager.

She also spoke out on how young athletes are often made vulnerable to sexual predators.

Her courage in fighting against sexual harassment has received nationwide media coverage.

Both Youth and Sports Minister Reezal Merican Naina Merican and his deputy Wan Ahmad Fayhsal Wan Ahmad Kamal have vowed to get to the bottom of Ong’s allegations.

In July this year, the Dewan Rakyat passed the long-awaited anti-sexual harassment bill. - Mkini

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