Molesters don't deserve leniency

A man harassed a woman on Shanghai metro line 9 in front of other passengers, who asked her to report the incident to police. But the woman decided not to file a sexual harassment complaint against the man, setting bad example for others, says an article in Youth Times. Excerpts:

Even though other passengers encouraged the victim to report the crime to police, she didn't do so. Perhaps she is kind-hearted and thought the man had not been "aggressive" enough to be reported to police. Or, she was afraid of retaliation in case she reported him to the public security bureau. In both cases, she was wrong.

A sexual offender will not change if he is not reported to the authorities for his first or second offense. Instead, he will be encouraged to commit more such crimes taking advantage of women's kindness or fear, or both.

Besides, sexual offense is a crime, and it is the responsibility of every citizen to ensure that a sexual offender is punished. Why was the woman on the metro afraid of a lone molester with so many people around? Why didn't she file a complaint against him with police to teach him a lesson?

Before criticizing the decline in social morality, people should analyze their role in society as responsible citizens. The woman on the Shanghai metro, for example, was not willing to seek police help even when fellow passengers encouraged her to do so. She should know that tolerating a crime may not be as bad as committing one, but it's no better.

(China Daily 07/23/2013 page9)