Singapore—In the Facebook page NTU Confessions, where students post anonymously about anything under the sun, one student decided to post a warning about having been molested in a recent ride share arrangement, which had been reported to the police and he/she claims is under investigation.
The takeaway is that students need to be careful when using ride share platforms, and ask for contact details or identification before taking a ride because anyone can use these platforms, and not just NTU students.
https://www.facebook.com/NTUConfess/posts/2168482553255876
The student was referring in particular to the platform called Ride Kakis, which provides ride sharing to students of Nanyang Technological University.
Found on the messaging app Telegram, “Ride Kakis (NTU)…is a peer-to-peer platform that connects individuals to provide for cost saving, allowing individuals to split the transport fare among kakis. @ntukakis_bot“
The group has 3,984 members, according to the Telegram site.
On Monday, October 21, the writer of the post on NTU Confessions wrote that he/she (their gender is undisclosed) wanted to share that they been “involved in an incident last week where a non-NTU male hitched me via Ride Kakis, brought me to a secluded carpark and molested me.”
The writer added that a police report had been filed, which resulted in the driver getting arrested.
To make matters worse, the alleged molester seemed to make excuses for his behaviour, and the writer of the post found out that it was not the first time that he had been reported for a similar offence.
“A police report has been made and the driver has been arrested. He claims that he was trying to ‘make friends’ but I found out that there is another report made against him on the same matter. So, it sounds like bullshit to me.”
The writer claimed that they weren’t trying to stir up trouble, but that their aim was to warn people to be careful on ride share platforms, and reaching out via the NTU confessions page is one way to get the word out quickly to other students.
“For those doubting this is real, don’t. I’m really not trying to stir shit or anything. I just wanna caution everyone, especially with all the sexual harassment cases nowadays. I was initially quite traumatised but I’m fine now and I honestly just want that guy to rot in jail if he is found guilty. I will be writing to the school about the incident, but figured a lot of NTU students read this page so it would be easier and faster to reach out.”
The writer made it a point that they were not singling out Ride Kakis, but that cautiousness is needed in using it since anyone can access it.
“Not hating on Ride Kakis because not every driver/rider is a pervert, but I just wanna ask everyone to please be careful. If the person you’re hitching/sharing cab with doesn’t provide his/her contact details, make sure you ask for proper identification before getting into the same car. The thing about Ride Kakis is that anyone can use it and verification is not compulsory. Yes, hitch can make friends but don’t be so foolish to let your guard down.” -/TISG