Singaporean gets award for rescuing woman trapped in public bathroom by half-naked would-be molester

Singapore—The Police awarded Reshi Kumar Thenarasu with the Public Spiritedness Award on Thursday (Mar 19). Mr Reshi had prevented the molestation of a woman at a public bathroom in November of last year.

At the award ceremony, the commander of the Clementi Police Division, Assistant Commissioner Jarrod Pereira said of the heroic man, “Mr Reshi had displayed a strong sense of civic-mindedness and courage, and his actions have made the community a safer place for all.”

Twenty-three-year-old Mr Reshi was at a food court in West Coast at 11pm on November 11, 2019, when a man suddenly came up to him asking for help. His wife, the man said, was trapped with a man she did not know inside a bathroom for the handicapped.

Mr Reshi, who has just finished his National Service stint and is currently unemployed, then ran to the bathroom and scaled a wall 2 meters high to get inside the toilet.

Inside, The New Paper (TNP) reports that he saw a crying woman in her 60s cornered inside the cubicle, with a man, who had removed his pants and underwear, hovering over her.

TNP quotes Mr Reshi as saying, “At that moment, it was necessary for me to help. What I can do, I will do.

The would-be assailant told Mr Reshi, “Go away, this is none of your business.”

Mr Reshi then unlocked the door and helped the woman get away. He guarded the door to the bathroom to keep the alleged molester there while others called for the police, but the man still attempted to escape. Mr Reshi ran after him, and seized him when he fell.

Mr Reshi said that that man also looked like he was in his 60s, was tattooed and was well-built. He had told the man, ‘You have a mother or sister? What would they think about what you are doing?'”

When the police arrived they arrested the man for outrage of modesty.

In addition to Mr Reshi, two men were also given the Public Spiritedness Award for two other cases of alerting and assisting in a case of outrage of modesty.

Five firms received the Community Partnership Award for Organisations for their “collaboration with Clementi Police Division in developing and implementing crime prevention initiatives,” according to the Police.

These are: Shangri-la’s Rasa Sentosa Resort and Spa, Singapore, Comfortdelgo Taxi, Singapore Polytechnic, Queenstown Active Ageing Committee, and Ulu Pandan Active Ageing Committee.

According to AC Pereira, “We value the strong collaboration between the police and community partners in our crime-fighting efforts. They are the reason why Singapore is one of the safest places in the world.” -/TISG

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