MTrans Bus Attendant Sacked After Sexually Assaulting Female Passenger on Malang-Denpasar Route

A sexual harassment case involving a female passenger on public transport has caused an uproar online. The case came to light after the victim found the courage to speak out.

The harassment was experienced by a passenger with the initials R. She said the harassment occurred at night while she was resting. The victim is known to have boarded an MTrans bus bound for Malang-Denpasar on 12 July.

As reported by detikJatim, this distressing story came to public attention after the victim spoke out, revealing that public spaces, particularly intercity transport, still pose a real threat to women.

In her post, the victim recounted that the incident began when she deliberately chose seat number 7C after confirming with the ticketing officer that she would be seated next to another woman.

Unfortunately, when the bus departed on Saturday evening (11/7/2026) at 19.20 WIB, the seat beside her turned out to be empty. At that point, a bus crew member suddenly sent her a WhatsApp message, offering to help recline her seat so she could sleep more comfortably.

Thinking this was part of the bus’s service, the victim accepted the offer before falling back asleep with her body tightly covered by a blanket.

The victim later woke up because she felt a tap on her body. Assuming the crew member had come to fix her seat, she instinctively moved towards the window.

However, her assumption was completely wrong. The crew member instead sat in the empty seat beside her, took the blanket R had been using as a pillow, and began committing indecent acts.

“He sat in my seat, used the blanket I had been using as a pillow, then stroked my hair while saying, ‘your hair is messy from sleeping,’” said the victim, who gave detikJatim permission to quote her, on Wednesday (15/7/2026).

Receiving this unpleasant treatment, the victim immediately pushed away the perpetrator’s hand. Instead of backing off, the crew member grew bolder, pointing at his own shoulder and telling the victim to lean on him.

When the victim firmly refused, the perpetrator forcibly pulled her head towards his shoulder, which she immediately avoided. For the rest of the journey, the perpetrator remained seated beside the victim, even sleeping at one point and touching his legs against hers several times, until the victim was forced to fold her legs to avoid any physical contact.

Amid the situation, the victim chose not to scream or fight back. That decision was made with great difficulty, given her exhausted physical condition and the deserted road conditions.

“It happened from the middle of the night until dawn. I was alone, the bus was moving, I was very tired, and I didn’t know how he would react if I resisted. I was also thinking about the safety of the other passengers. So all I could think about was holding on until we reached the destination, then reporting it,” she explained.

The victim rushed to the MTrans Bali office to file an official report as soon as the bus arrived at the destination terminal in Denpasar, Bali, on Sunday (12/7/2026). Management responded by facilitating the recording of an apology video from the crew member and temporarily suspending him whilst awaiting a decision from head office.

R was also offered mediation and a direct meeting with the perpetrator. However, she firmly refused, as she felt disgusted and was still psychologically shaken.

“I was offered a chance to meet him (the crew member) directly, but I refused because honestly I was sick of seeing his face and just wanted to get home quickly. MTrans management said he was suspended temporarily while awaiting the decision from head office,” she asserted.

Perpetrator Dismissed

Human Resources Development (HRD) head at MTrans, Jhony Sasongko, said the company had terminated the employment of the perpetrator, known by the initials AM, who was an MTrans partner. He asserted that the dismissal was part of management’s commitment.

“Because he did indeed violate work ethics as set out in the initial agreement. If any of our crew or staff violate work ethics in a manner classified as serious, we take firm action like this,” Jhony said at his office.

Jhony revealed that the perpetrator had been an MTrans partner for almost eight months. While working at MTrans, AM served as a helper, or conductor. He also confirmed that the perpetrator had committed similar acts against several passengers, particularly women.

“Because it wasn’t the first time — this partner (AM) had been reported before for the same behaviour. We gave him a warning, but he repeated it,” he asserted.

“Yes, it’s true, there are other victims, with the same perpetrator. That’s why we took firm action,” Jhony concluded.