S'pore man goes to toilet in JB mall, allegedly gets harassed

While on a day trip to Johor Bahru with his wife and two children, a man was allegedly harassed and propositioned by another man.

The man from Singapore had entered a male restroom in Toppen Shopping Centre, a family-centric mall in JB.

The man, who gave his name as Joshua, said the incident took place on Feb. 15 in the restroom next to the mall's playground and water park.

What happened in toilet

While he was at the urinal, a man allegedly went up to the urinal next to him and peeped over the partition to "look down [at me] while I was doing my business".

This made him feel uncomfortable, and he quickly left.

Attempted confrontation

Joshua then waited for the man to finish using the facilities "so [he] could go and confront him".

But when the man came out, he made an obscene gesture to Joshua, apparently indicating that he was propositioning him for oral sex.

"He was asking me to follow him to the cubicle," Joshua explained.

When Joshua responded by shouting and taking out his phone to snap photos of him, the other man allegedly ran into a cubicle and locked it.

Joshua then tried to look for mall security, but was unable to do so.

When the other man finally exited the toilet, Joshua confronted him again, but was persuaded to let the matter rest by his wife as they were with their children and she feared retaliation.

He later emailed the mall and was told that they had filed a police report.

But the mall did not provide any further updates.

Family mall

Speaking to Mothership, the Singapore resident explained that he was particularly concerned as the incident happened at a mall that caters more to families.

It also took place on the mall's third floor, which houses a playground and water park, as well as a unisex public shower area for children that "any adult could go in and out of".

Joshua said: "I'm a father of two. I have two young kids, a two-year-old and a six-month-old... I don't want this to happen to any children."

He added that he hopes other parents will take note of this incident and "be very aware when you visit any malls with your kids".

"I hope it won't happen to anyone else, and I'm glad it happened to an adult and not a child," he added.

Mothership has reached out to Toppen Shopping Centre for comment.

Top image from Joshua and Toppen Shopping Centre's website