A non-resident worker from the mainland was arrested on Monday for touching a 17-year-old local girl’s buttocks on a bus on Friday, Public Security Police (PSP) spokesman Cheuk Kou Chi said at a press briefing yesterday.
The suspect is a 40-year-old man surnamed Liu who told the police that he is a construction worker.
According to Cheuk, the victim who is a secondary school student reported to the Public Security Police on Friday night that a man had touched her buttocks for about two minutes on a No. 26A bus earlier that night. The victim told the police that she caught the bus in Estrada da Baía de Nossa Senhora da Esperança in Taipa and felt that someone was touching her buttocks for about two minutes, and when she looked at the man he pretended that he was talking on the phone and got off the bus at the next stop.
Thanks to CCTV footage, PSP officers identified Liu as the sexual harassment suspect. Cheuk said the man touched the victim’s buttocks with his left hand, and as the girl did not respond immediately he kept his hand on her buttocks for nearly two minutes. The Public Security Police told Liu to report to a police station on Monday. Under questioning, Liu claimed that he had “accidentally” touched the girl’s buttocks and as she hadn’t noticed it immediately, he continued to touch her.
Liu has been transferred to the Public Prosecutions (MP), facing a sexual harassment charge, according to Cheuk.
Cheuk urged the public that if anyone suspects that he or she has been sexually harassed they should remain calm and seek immediate help after making sure that they are safe.
This undated handout photo provided by the Public Security Police (PSP) yesterday shows a PSP officer escorting the sexual harassment suspect to a police station.
