Being physically assaulted is horrible enough but having a video of the incident going viral can be traumatising for the victim and we can’t imagine what this woman must’ve felt like when she begged for forgiveness from her abusers while they filmed her on camera.
The video, originally posted on Facebook, showed the woman being attacked by a group of bullies on a staircase of an unspecified building believed to be in Georgetown, Penang. The young victim can be heard whimpering in fear when being asked if she’ll report the assault to the police.
She was also profusely apologising after being accused of sleeping with someone. Despite her apologies, the assailants continued to smack and kick the victim against the wall. The original video has since been taken down by the poster with no updates, aside from mentions of a police report filed by the victim against her abusers. This information, however, has yet to be verified.
After the video went viral, a man who claimed to be the victim’s father came forward with a statement. According to Harian Metro, the woman in the video has apparently been away from home since December last year. It was said that the 24-year-old victim has severed ties with her family following an issue with them.
Timur Laut District Police Chief Assistant Commissioner Soffian Santong told reporters that the father has filed a report and that the case is currently being investigated under Section 147 of the Penal Code for rioting and Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998.
“Until now, the condition and whereabouts of the victim cannot be ascertained,” Soffian said before urging the public to not further sensationalise the viral video as it might create unnecessary rumours and speculations that could disturb the investigation.
We hope that the victim is safe and that action will be taken against the assailants. Below is the short version of the now-deleted video of the assault (proceed with caution):
https://www.instagram.com/p/CvZIxkdtimK/?hl=en
Sources: HMetro, Chinapress, OrientalDaily, Utusan
