Local Actress Gini Chang Calls Out Man Who Touched Her On Public Bus

Last week, Mediacorp actress Gini Chang took to her Instagram to share a very disturbing incident she'd encountered. 

"If you don’t control your hands, or at least your brain, sooner or later you will have to take responsibility for your actions," snapped the 31-year-old Star Search 2019 finalist.

"Today’s video isn’t funny. You may have never seen me like this because I’m really angry. Just now, on the bus, I encountered a ‘handsy’ person.”

Alternating between Mandarin and Cantonese, the Singapore-based Macanese actress recounted that a middle-aged man was originally seated opposite her.

“When he saw an empty seat next to me, he deliberately came over and then placed his hands on the sides of his body, gripping the edge of the seat," she said.

"At that moment, I felt his arm touching my thigh."

Gini initially wondered if it was accidental or if she was sitting too close to the edge of her seat.

"I didn’t want to overreact. But he repeated the same action again. I realised something was wrong and immediately moved my bag from the right side onto my lap," recalled the actress.

"Only then did he withdraw his hand, pick up his things, and leave the seat before getting off the bus.”

Gini asserted that if someone accidentally touches another person, it's only instinctive for them to withdraw or apologise right away.

Instead, the man did not retreat and repeated his actions, which led Gini to think that he was deliberately trying to take advantage of her.

"Actually he's just testing to see if I would resist, if I am an easy prey who would let him get away with it," she explained.

The actress also revealed in the video that this was not her first encounter with a harasser.

"One time on the street, a man deliberately walked towards me even though there was enough space and bumped into me. Another time, a man brushed his elbow against my chest while passing by," she told Zaobao.sg in a subsequent interview. 

"These situations feel like accidental contact but clearly crossed the line, and they never apologised afterwards. This bus incident is the second time such a thing has happened this year.”

Despite that, Gini isn't going to stop taking public transport out of fear. 

"I still believe Singapore is a relatively safe place. I won’t lose confidence in the overall public transport system because of isolated incidents," she explained.

"The problem lies in the behaviour and mindset of the offender, not the environment itself.”

She also advised women not to remain silent if they encounter similar situations.

“The ideal approach is to confront the offender immediately and seek help from the bus driver or other passengers, while noting the time, location, and details of the incident," she averred.

She also added that reporting to the police is necessary, and that it is extremely important to stay alert. 

"But the most important thing is not to blame yourself. If you feel psychologically disturbed, you should also seek professional counselling," she urged.