Ladies, be careful! November 28
This particular story happened in Penang. Taken from The Star
Devil In Disguise, by Marie Schneider
Beware of evil men disguised as good.
WHEN you are in need of help, the last thing you want is a predator turning up to take advantage of your vulnerability. In the past, I’ve heard so many stories of evil intent disguised as a good deed; stories that have shocked me, but which have also been quickly forgotten. That is to say, until a dear friend had a harrowing encounter with a “Good Samaritan”. Now I’m reminded that we can never let our guard down with a stranger.
It all started when my friend locked herself out of her car at the side of a busy Penang road. One minute she was investigating the strange noise coming from one of her wheels, and the next she found herself stranded. It was late at night, it was beginning to rain, and her handphone was inside the car, along with her handbag and house keys.
Just as she was cursing her absent-mindedness, a car pulled up from behind. Her initial reaction was uncertainty, so she tried to make herself as visible as possible by standing as close to the passing traffic as she could, without getting run over. Surely, no one would try anything untoward with so many potential witnesses, she reasoned.
As it turned out, the driver of the car was friendly and charming. But isn’t that usually the case? Predators usually don’t look any different from the good guys. If evil were clearly etched on a face, we could round up everyone with a certain look and lock them up before they could do any harm.
To gain my friend’s trust, Mr Pred told her that the same thing had happened to him the month before. “It can happen to anyone,” he said, and then he laughed in an easy way that said, “Hey, I’m on your side! I’ve been there, done that, and I can help get you on your way again.”
OK, there’s no such laugh, but my friend felt her unease beginning to melt ever so slightly.
Mr Pred then went to his car and removed a metal contraption from his boot: a device that could be used to open a car door. According to him, he’d had it specially made after he’d locked himself out of his car. “I’m so absent-minded, it’s ridiculous,” he announced. Then he laughed in a way that said, “Come on! I’m just an absent-minded, jolly, middle-aged man who wouldn’t hurt a fly.”
Or so it seemed to my friend. But as he manipulated the metal contraption through the rubber seal that runs along the bottom of her car window, he also manipulated her.
“I’m just on my way home after visiting my mother in hospital,” he said.
“I hope it’s not anything serious,” said my friend.
“She has been ill for a while now, and the doctor said that it’s just a matter of days before …”
“I’m sorry,” said my friend.
Like, what a nice man to stop and help when he was suffering so much.
As Mr Pred fiddled, he talked at length about his elderly mother. My friend felt herself warming to him. All that talk about the old lady touched her.
After a few more manipulative minutes, Mr Pred had the door open. My friend was so relieved, she could have hugged him. But she didn’t.
“Hey, what do you know! I did it. I was getting a little nervous, because it was taking so long,” he said. Then he laughed in a way that said, “You can see that I’m just a nice man who is eager to please.”
“How can I possibly thank you,” said my friend.
“It’s nothing. I’m glad I could help. But before I go, let me just take a look at that wheel of yours. I don’t want to drive off and leave you stranded.”
It’s the front passenger wheel,” said my friend as she moved around to the other side of the car.
It was there, shielded from passing vehicles that Mr Pred made his move. He pushed her against the side of the car and grabbed her breast. It happened so quickly that she couldn’t respond immediately. It was only when she felt his hand moving beneath her skirt that she screamed and tried to push him away.
“It’s just a little fun,” said Mr Pred, pushing my friend so hard against the car that she felt winded.
From within her panic and fear, a little snippet of information floated up. She stopped struggling. So did Mr Pred. And that’s all it took; that one little window of opportunity.
A perfectly manicured finger shot out and poked Mr Pred in the eye. His hands shot up to his face and he took a step back. And that’s all it took for her to escape into her car and lock the door.
Mr Pred is still out there.