The KRL Commuterline in Jakarta is urging passengers to be vigilant against sexual offenders on board their trains in light of a disturbing sexual harassment incident that allegedly took place last week according to a viral social media post.
A woman, identified as Virginia, shared her story on Instagram on Friday, which went viral over the weekend. As reported by Detik, Virginia wrote that she was on board the very crowded Manggarai-Bekasi train during rush hour on Friday evening when a man boarded the train from Cikini station and stood next to her. Soon after, she noticed that the man had taken out his penis and rubbed it against a woman who was standing with her back to him, who did not notice the harassment as she was listening to music through her headphones.
Panicked and confused about what to do, Virginia wrote that the act continued for some time until she decided to video call her father and ask him for help. When she pointed her phone’s camera at the man, he grabbed her by the arm and scratched her. She then decided to make a run for it when the train stopped at Bekasi station.
“I slipped out of the door while screaming for help, but this man followed me with his ‘thing’ still out. He was chasing after me because he knew I was going to report him. When I reported him, he disappeared, leaving his bag in the train, which was confiscated by the security guards and police. (The authorities) didn’t let anyone out of the station for a while because they were searching for the man,” Virginia told Detik.
Unfortunately, KRL Commuterline operators PT KCI said the authorities did not catch the alleged sexual offender.
“We have a closed security system and it’s not rare that we apprehend criminals like pickpockets and such. However, because this is a public facility, we urge high vigilance from all passengers. Crowded public transport and public facilities are often the breeding ground for criminality,” said PT KCI VP of Communications Eva Chairunisa.
