Modesty Outrage on Crowded Public Trains and Buses

Ms Tan Su Shan asked the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Home Affairs in light of the congestion on our public trains and buses (a) what measures are being taken to ensure that commuters are not harassed or have their modesty outraged; and (b) whether there has been an increase in such cases reported over the last five years.

Over the past five years, the number of outrage of modesty cases reported on public transport has increased. The number of cases per one million passenger trips has remained largely stable, as passenger trips also increased during this period. The rate for 2012 was 0.07 cases per one million passenger trips.

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Harassment offences are classified under the Miscellaneous Offences (Public Order and Nuisance) Act, and Police do not separately track the number of harassment cases that take place on public transport.

Police take a comprehensive approach to crime prevention. This includes adopting strategies to deter and apprehend potential perpetrators as well as preventing the occurrence of these opportunistic crimes by raising commuter awareness. Officers from the Public Transport Security Command patrol the MRT network and the bus interchanges and conduct checks on suspicious persons. Transit Security Officers employed by the public transport operators provide another layer of deterrence and detection, through their presence at MRT stations and bus interchanges.

Police also collaborate with the transport operators to raise public awareness. Crime prevention posters are displayed at the MRT stations and on trains and buses to remind the general public to be alert and adopt measures to prevent such crimes from happening.

The higher number of reported outrage of modesty cases has to be seen in the context of higher public transport ridership over the same time period. However, I would like to assure the Member that Police are watching the situation carefully and will continue to enhance measures to detect offences within our public transport system and apprehend offenders. We urge all members of the public to be vigilant and to report incidents to the authorities as soon as possible.