Police statistics show 34 sexual harassment incidents have taken place on Taipei Metro through August this year. The majority involved perpetrators pretending to accidentally touch a victim's chest or butt. A women's group believes there are many more unreported cases.
A man wearing black presses his lower body against a passenger wearing white in front of him inside a Taipei Metro car. He was accused of repeatedly touching the other person's butt.
Victim: “I think I saw him coming out of the car.”
The victim immediately reported the incident to authorities when the metro reached the station. The police were able to apprehend the perpetrator.
Sung Chun-liang, Captain, Criminal Investigation Div., Rapid Transit Div., TCPD: “We were able to track down this man and process him for violations of the Sexual Harassment Prevention Act using the description of his clothing provided by the person who reported the case and security camera footage from inside the car.”
The perpetrator was a 36-year-old man surnamed Liu who works in interior design. On Aug. 2, he took a Taipei Metro train from Zhongxiao Xinsheng Station to Dongmen Station. He did not admit to committing the crime, claiming he collided with the victim because the car was swaying. On Taipei Metro, a common form of sexual harassment is the perpetrator pretending to accidentally touch a victim's butt or chest. Police statistics show there were 34 cases through the end of August. They account for 15 percent of all criminal cases.
Wang Shu-fen, Deputy CEO, Garden of Hope Foundation: “Perhaps you're not able to determine if it's sexual harassment, or you might just let it pass and not report it or respond. I think there are probably many unreported cases.”
The police say 27 cases have occurred inside metro cars, four at exits, two on platforms, and one on an escalator. Women's groups advise victims to loudly call for help and report cases. They should speak up even if the harassment lasts for just a few seconds.
黑衣男子在捷運車廂內，下半身緊貼前方白衣乘客，他被指控不斷碰觸對方臀部。
王姓被害人向警方表示：「我好像疑似有看到他，從車廂內走出來。」
忍了50秒，列車到站後，王姓女子立刻報案，警方也循線，逮捕涉案的劉姓男子。
台北市捷運警察隊刑事組長宋俊良說明：「警方依據報案人提供之衣著特徵，配合車廂監視器影像，最終查獲該名男子到案，並依《性騷擾防治法》移送法辦。」
36歲劉姓男子從事室內裝潢、設計，上個月2日搭乘台北捷運，從忠孝新生站到東門站，涉嫌性騷擾，但他辯稱因爲車廂擺動才會碰撞，沒有承認犯案。不過，像是這類性騷擾案件，不包含偷拍，其實犯案手法，大多都裝作不經意，趁機觸碰臀部及胸部，捷運警察更統計，今年到8月底，已經發生34件，佔全部刑案的15%。
勵馨基金會副執行長王淑芬指出：「他可能沒有辦法辨識那是不是（性騷擾），或者他覺得他就算了，他就是沒有申訴或沒有回應，我覺得這一類的事件一定會有非常多的黑數。」
警方也分析捷運性騷擾案件，車廂最常發生佔27件，出口發生4件，月台和手扶梯則各有2件及1件。婦女團體建議，遭遇性騷擾應大聲呼救、制止，並尋求申訴等管道，只要受到不舒服對待，縱使只有幾秒鐘，也不該默默隱忍吞下。
