How far is too far? Faced with multiple unwanted messages from a male TikToker, some Singaporean women took it upon themselves to make sure that he stopped what he was doing.
It all started when the teenager posted multiple videos on TikTok, tagging several girls and making unwanted advances on them. Even when he was told to stop in the comments, he continued with his actions.
Emma Fan told AsiaOne that he started tagging her in his videos about a month ago and also sent direct messages via TikTok.
Image source: Screengrab from TikTok
The 16-year-old student said that he initially posted videos saying that he wanted to “go for [her]” or “get [her]” but it quickly escalated into threats about wanting to fight her boyfriend. He added that “whoever wins gets Emma”, which she described as “quite disturbing”.
“My boyfriend tried to comment on his video to tell him to stop. I wrote ‘You are pissing me off’ as a last warning for him to stop. But instead of deleting the video, he [direct messaged] me to ask me what did he do wrong.
“It was when he started involving my boyfriend and putting assumptions out there that I was in love with him that I felt it was getting too much,” she said.
Although Fan has not taken any action against him apart from confronting him on Instagram, student Cayla Lee, who was similarly harassed, decided to write an email to his school.
On Monday (Nov 15), she posted a video on TikTok showing a screenshot of an email she wrote to his school, expressing her concern about his actions on social media. The video garnered almost 110,000 views and 300 comments.
The email has several allegations including him harassing them on social media by “forcing them to date [him]” and “threatening to expose [their] addresses and phone numbers”. At the end of the video, there is a screenshot showing he had also posted her picture on his Instagram.
“He posted the picture on his Instagram account saying ‘next target’, [which] made me feel uncomfortable, especially when I told him to leave me alone,” Lee, 18, told AsiaOne.
“I’ve seen many girls being uncomfortable… as someone who doesn’t have much control over the situation, I decided to contact his school and let his parents be [made] aware of [his] online behaviour.”
Image source: iStock
In response to AsiaOne’s queries, the school said that they are “currently looking into the matter” and added that the perpetrator’s parents have also been notified.
“We do not condone any form of abusive behaviour, online or offline, and will not hesitate to take disciplinary actions if necessary,” they said.
At the time of writing, his TikTok and Instagram accounts have been taken down. AsiaOne has also reached out to him for comment.
Under the Protection from Harassment Act (POHA), a person who threatens, abuses or insults (whether by behaviour, words or other forms of communication) with the intention to cause and did cause another person harassment, alarm or distress, will be guilty of an offence.
What To Do When Being Harassed?
The Association of Women for Action and Research has outlined tips for individuals who are facing harassment.
One of the first things to do is to communicate clearly that you are uncomfortable with the behaviour. Be firm while remaining polite. If you don’t want to speak to the perpetrator directly, send a text message or on email — this may also be used as evidence.
Another helpful tip is to collect evidence. This can be done by noting the dates, times and places where the harassment occurred. It’s also good to keep a detailed account of the unwelcomed behaviour.
This article was first published on AsiaOne and republished on theAsianparent with permission.
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