A WOMAN who was assaulted by a man for not wearing a headscarf in Penang earlier this month has lodged a police report at 12.25pm today.

The victim, a 24-year-old factory Indonesian worker, lodged the report in central Seberang Prai over the incident that occurred between noon and 12.30pm on January 6 at a bus stop in Taman Perwira in Bukit Tengah.

District police chief assistant commissioner Nik Ros Azhan Nik Abdul Hamid told The Malaysian Insight through WhatsApp that, according to the victim, “the suspect did not slap her but shoved her head during the encounter”.

In her report, the woman, who lives in Bukit Mertajam, said she was waiting for the bus with her sister and friends when an unknown man walked towards them and asked where they were going.

“The suspect was described by the victim as unkempt and appeared to be of unsound mind,” Nik Ros Azhan said.

“The victim told him they were going to town, and he began a tirade of scolding her. He said he hated seeing women without headscarves.

“She ignored him and he shoved her head. Nothing else happened as her sister managed to prevent the incident from escalating. The women left the scene after that.”

Nik Ros Azhan said the victim was not injured and had declined to see a doctor, explaining that she lodged the report because she was worried that something similar might happen to someone else.

The incident, which was caught on video, has since gone viral, and was picked up by the media, including Britain’s Daily Mail. It was initially believed that the victim was slapped.

The assault sparked an outcry from female political leaders.

Last Friday, Pakatan Harapan women leaders in Penang condemned the act and urged the police to investigate. DAP Wanita national assistant publicity secretary Syerleena Abdul Rashid also lodged a police report at the Jalan Patani police station.

Nik Ros Azhan said the police had gone to the scene of the incident today to gather information and attempt to trace the whereabouts of the suspect, who they had identified as a 30-year-old man from Bercham Megah in Ipoh, Perak.

“We traced him to an address but he was not home. His uncle verified that the suspect has been of unsound mind since a road accident 15 years ago.

“We are still looking for the suspect so we can send him to Penang Hospital’s psychiatry ward,” he said. – January 21, 2018.