Woman confronts man who molests her in club, but bouncers pull her away: 'This is just part of club life'

A woman alleged she was molested in a club at Orchard Road, but the club let the culprit go.

Facebook user Rachel posted on March 25 about her ordeal, which happened on March 23 at Club Wave in Orchard Plaza, where she said she was deployed for an event for an alcohol brand.

"As I was walking towards the exit of the club, a man coming towards my direction assaulted me inappropriately," she wrote in the post.

"Despite my shock, I tried to confront him and wanted him out of the club to identify him. However, people started pulling me away and defending the perpetrator.

"At 153cm and 45kg with a small build, it's absurd to think I could cause harm. One of the bouncers even said, 'I had no choice. The boss asked me to drag you away.'

She said that feeling helpless, she left the club and immediately called the police.

"Outside the club, several bouncers surrounded me and continued to show aggression, blaming me for involving the police.

"But who is really causing trouble here, their customer or me? Their actions made me doubt myself, as if I had done something wrong."

Rachel said the bouncers left her alone only after started taking videos of them, which were shared in her Facebook post.

"The club's boss, D, approached me, dismissing the incident with comments like, 'This is just part of club life.' 'You're overreacting.'

"His words ignited a fire within me. Why should we women be expected to endure such treatment simply because of our gender? I demanded him to stop speaking and await the police's arrival.

"Despite the boss's instruction for the bouncers to escort me downstairs to wait for the police, I refused, fearing I would lose sight of the perpetrator. Feeling devastated, I insisted on waiting by the club entrance for the authorities."

But when the police arrived 10 minutes later, the perpetrator could not be found.

Rachel asked: "Why did the club allow him to leave? Was it because he's the boss's friend or was it because he was a big spender in the club?"

She told Stomp why she suspected the perpetrator was a friend of the boss.

"When I was waiting for the payment, the waiter told me it was not needed because it was the table of the boss's friend. So when I found out, I just walked away.

"The incident happened as I was walking away from the table. The perpetrator proceeded to the table of the boss's friend after the incident."

She added: "Even one of the bouncers and my colleague told me that he was the boss's friend and probably a big spender there. That was why they had to help him."

Rachel said in her post: "The whole incident was so traumatising as if getting molested was not enough. As the victim, it's unacceptable for anyone to dismiss your experience or tell you that you're overreacting.

"It is disheartening to hear that other women have faced similar situations but felt silenced by fear of repercussions. Is this the society we want to live in, where women feel pressured to stay silent about harassment to avoid trouble or job loss?

"I urge all women to be brave and courageous in standing up for themselves when faced with dangerous situations like this. I know firsthand the struggle of feeling timid and unable to speak out. But through learning martial arts, not to engage in combat but to gain confidence, I found my voice."

Rachel does Brazilian jiu-jitsu and muay thai.

She told Stomp: "Participating in martial arts doesn't advocate violence. Instead, it has empowered me to confidently defend myself and, in this instance, confront the perpetrator.

"Which I find that a lot of ladies do not have the courage to do as I have a few friends who came forward and shared with me their experience as well.

"Many people are afraid of how other people will judge them for overreacting, for thinking too much. Similar to what happened to me with the boss commenting that I was overreacting."

In response to a Stomp query, the police confirmed that a report was lodged and investigations are ongoing.

Stomp has also contacted Club Wave for more info.