Did he just stroke her thigh? Maybe accidentally, she thought. The ride was after all going super fast; it was but natural to swing a bit to the side.
But then she felt it again...and again, on different parts of her body.
Fun day turns bad
According to Yahoo News Singapore, the 12-year-old Singapore girl had gone to Universal Studios with friends. She boarded the "Revenge of the Mummy" ride with 2 of her friends. An Indian national ended up sitting next to her, on the right.
The Revenge of the Mummy ride is an indoor rollercoaster and operates in dimly lit conditions. At the beginning of the ride, the vehicle moves slowly and stops briefly, before reversing at high speed. It was at this point that the girl felt the man stroking her right thigh.
She tried to ignore his advances, but by the end of the ride, the poor girl was quite traumatised. She had been touched inappropriately five times, including on the breast.
She told her friend about it, and reported to the Universal Studios Singapore staff. A police report was also lodged on the same day.
Man jailed for molesting girl
On February 28, engineer Rohit Kumar Joshi was found guilty of the offence, and sentenced to nine months of jail. He has however, been spared the cane. District Judge Jasvender Kaur has been quoted as saying, “She was just a poor young girl who went on a ride to enjoy herself, but ended up being violated.”
According to Stomp, Deputy Public Prosecutor Muhammad Taufiq Suraidi said, "The victim then crossed both her arms across her chest to prevent him from touching her again."
Empowering our children to stand up against sexual abuse
What is distressing about this case is that there was no possible escape for the girl until the ride got over; and the man took advantage of her knowing that. It is also disgusting that he chose to perform such indecent acts in spite of being well educated, and father of a new born girl himself!
More and more such cases are coming to light in Singapore of late; and it is important that we enlighten our children about the sexual predators out there. Empowering our children against child sexual abuse should involve:
- Recognising sexual abuse: How does the child know that he or she has been abused? Abuse does not always have to be painful. Recognising abuse starts with education. It is important to teach your children about private parts from a young age. Use proper names for each body part. Explain why only some parts are called 'private' and that they are not for anyone else to see, except maybe parents. Explain "good touch" and "bad touch". No one should be allowed to touch or take pictures of their private parts and they should not touch any one’s private parts as well.
- Reporting sexual abuse: "Was it my fault? Will I be shamed or punished if I told someone about it?" These are common questions that hound sexual abuse victims. Parents should convince their children that they will never get into trouble for telling them the truth.
The child may be misled to believe by the abuser or any others that he or she was asking for it, was enjoying it etc. But children should understand that anyone who wants them to keep secrets from their parents should not be trusted.
Dignity and respect are every individual's right; no body 'invites' sexual abuse, nobody 'deserves' it. These are all excuses made up by sick people. Stand up. Name them. Shame them. Report them.
Also READ: Young boys sexually abused by school student care employee!
(Source: Yahoo News Singapore, Stomp)
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