A woman who was leading a tour for a group of strangers in Indonesia said she discovered a male traveller had secretly taken 20 to 30 photos of another participant and made \u201cdisgusting comments\u201d about her.<\/p>\n
After confronting him, she said she \u201cgrabbed his phone and ran\u201d while taking photos of the evidence before reporting the incident to the tour agency.<\/p>\n
Christie Cheah, 26-year-old co-founder of Cat Treks<\/a> \u2014 a female-only travel company in Singapore \u2014 recounted the incident in an Instagram post on July 30.<\/a><\/p>\n In the post, she said that she was leading a trip to Mount Bromo and Ijen, two volcanoes in Indonesia, with a mixed-gender group of strangers.<\/p>\n Towards the end of the trip, one of the participants told her that he had seen another participant secretly taking photos of one of the female travellers in the group.<\/p>\n Cheah devised a plan in which two male travellers would casually ask to see his phone. If they uncovered photos of the woman, they would call Cheah over.<\/p>\n \u201cA few minutes later, my phone rang \u2014 they indeed had found photos of her,\u201d Cheah recalled.<\/p>\n The man \u201cexplained nervously\u201d that he merely wanted to show his friends who he was travelling with, but Cheah pointed out that he had already asked to take multiple photos with the woman throughout the trip.<\/p>\n Sensing something was amiss, she asked to see his private chats, which she said revealed 20 to 30 photos of the woman in the first chat she opened.<\/p>\n \u201cAlongside were messages commenting on what she was wearing, claiming she was dressing for attention, bragging about how she had followed him back on Instagram,\u201d Cheah said.<\/p>\n A screenshot of a message allegedly from the man read: \u201cI taking pics of my friend, illegal meh?\u201d<\/p>\n Another said: \u201cI think she purposely wear until like that.\u201d<\/p>\n In a third message, he appeared to be reporting on the woman\u2019s attire and what she was doing.<\/p>\n \u201cHe was basically commenting on her body a lot because she was an influencer and that he now had access and was able to be in close proximity with her,\u201d Cheah told Stomp.<\/p>\n The photos included candid shots of the woman as well as photos of her posing for photos.<\/p>\n What happened next \u201cfelt like a scene right out of a movie\u201d for Cheah.<\/p>\n She said she grabbed the man\u2019s phone and ran, taking photos of the evidence while two of her friends held him back.<\/p>\n After saving the evidence on her phone, she deleted them from the man\u2019s device and reported the incident to the tour agency, which agreed to ban him from all future trips.<\/p>\n Cheah added that one of the man\u2019s close friends apologised and admitted that \u201cthis wasn\u2019t the first time\u201d \u2014 something that she felt was problematic.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you stay silent, you\u2019re helping him believe it\u2019s normal, which also makes you part of the problem,\u201d she wrote, urging others to call out unacceptable behaviour when they see it.<\/p>\n She also expressed gratitude for the participant who alerted her to the issue.<\/p>\n The female participant, whose photos were taken, commented on the Instagram post, saying she was aware that the way she dressed might \u201cinvite different opinions\u201d.<\/p>\n However, what struck her was the betrayal of trust by the male traveller.<\/p>\n She said she had befriended him because he was \u201csocially awkward\u201d, but he had instead violated her trust.<\/p>\n \u201cI left the bromo trip with far more negativity than I ever wanted to. I signed up to create memories, not to walk away questioning the intentions of someone I had trusted,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Cheah told Stomp that the man sent a \u201clengthy apology message\u201d to the woman, and was \u201cpretty remorseful\u201d after the incident.<\/p>\n \u201cJust because something isn\u2019t illegal, doesn\u2019t mean it\u2019s okay,\u201d she added in her post. \u201cNone of that is harmless, so let\u2019s stop normalising it.\u201d<\/p>\n Stomp has reached out to the female participant for comment.<\/p>\n In a separate incident, an elderly man was accused of taking unconsented photos<\/a> of an influencer during a pickleball session.<\/p>\n Have something to say? Join in!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Explore more on these topics<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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<\/div>\n<\/div>\n20 to 30 photos allegedly found on man\u2019s phone<\/h2>\n
Tour guide grabs phone, documents evidence<\/h2>\n
\u2018This wasn\u2019t the first time\u2019: Man\u2019s friend apologises<\/h2>\n
\u2018It was the betrayal of trust\u2019: Woman speaks out<\/h2>\n
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