Web users complain over subway sex pest

A sex pest is alleged to be preying on women at the exit of Chaoyangmen Subway Station, according to witnesses.

A local police officer admitted that it would be difficult to catch the alleged offender on Sunday.

A female Web user claimed she saw a male commuter wearing a black T-shirt "feeling four ladies' bottoms as they were using their cellphones" on Friday, at exit A of Chaoyangmen Subway Station, Line 2.

She also posted pictures of the man, but only taken from behind, to alert females to watch out.

On Sunday the Web user could not be reached for comment.

A police officer, surnamed Li, from Chaoyangmen police station, Chaoyang district, said the victims could certainly report the harassment to police, but this does not guarantee the suspect would be caught.

"The suspect would usually argue the behavior was not intentional, but just an accident in a crowded place. It's very difficult to collect the evidence," said Li.

To catch a sex harasser, the suspect would need to be grabbed at the scene, along with having testimony from several witnesses, said Li.

On Sunday, the man in the pictures was also accused of being the "Peeping Tom" who stood under an overpass outside Chaoyangmen subway station looking up women's skirts, which was photographed by another microblogger and posted online.

A 26-year-old woman, surnamed Tian, who was passing the overpass Sunday alleged she had suffered similar experiences at the spot.

"It is repulsive when you discover these perverts, but what can you do?" said Tian.

"It's not unusual on the overpasses or public transport, especially when women wear miniskirts in the summer, but it's useless to report such cases. It's up to us to be more careful when we're out," said Tian.

According to a survey released by Women's Watch China (WWC), a Beijing-based non-profit organization last December, 20 percent of over 1,800 female respondents said they experienced sexual harassment.

However, most choose to stay silent instead of taking legal action because of "lack of support and difficulties in gathering evidence," said the report on WWC's website.