Man allegedly dislocates woman's jaw after being rejected at Prinsep Street bar

A man who allegedly pestered two women at a bar in Prinsep Street last Friday, also allegedly elbowed one of them in the face after they rejected his advances, dislocating her jaw.

The police told The New Paper yesterday that a 25-year-old man has been arrested for voluntarily causing hurt.

The victim, who wanted to be known only as Ms Kylie, posted a clip of the alleged assault on Facebook on Saturday.

In the video, a group of six men and women appear to be talking before the man apparently elbows the woman in the face.

Ms Kylie, a Singapore permanent resident who is studying abroad, was here to visit friends and family for Christmas and the New Year.

According to the Facebook post, the man had been bothering the victim and her friend, which made them uncomfortable.

The post read: "I told him politely to leave us alone and go away countless times. However he refused to budge and instead elbowed my face out of the blue and dislocated my jaw."

It also said the victim's friends and other witnesses of the alleged assault stayed by her side and protected her.

Ms Kylie told TNP yesterday: "In that moment, I felt very powerless and defenceless.

"From the moment I saw him at the bar, he kept coming over to me.

"It was unfortunate that this happened to me, but hopefully it (will) bring some light to the topic (of assault) so no other women or men will be in my shoes in the future."

The full-time student, who is also a freelance make-up artist, said she has been having trouble sleeping and eating because of the throbbing pain in her jaw.

Reflecting on the incident, Ms Kylie said that being aware of these situations and learning how to handle them is important to deter assaults like this.

Ms Anisha Joseph, head of care services at the Association of Women for Action and Research, told TNP: "The onus should not be on women to protect themselves from random strangers assaulting them.

"The conversation here should be framed differently. The focus should not be on women finding ways to protect themselves, but on perpetrators stopping this dangerous and violent behaviour.".

On how one should behave in a dispute, Ms Gloria James-Civetta, head lawyer at Gloria James-Civetta & Co, said: "Adopt a non-provoking tone, but at the same time, do not relent to the aggressor's unreasonable request."

Citing past cases, she said the present case presents little challenge as there is footage of the incident and witnesses were around.

But in cases where these are lacking, there would be just the complainant's testimony.

In such instances, the testimonies would have to be unusually convincing.

She noted that submission does not satisfy as consent.

"No means no. Maybe means no. Let me think about it means no," said Ms James-Civetta.

This article was first published in The New Paper. Permission required for reproduction.