An alleged molester who was pictured touching the legs of a woman on a train of Metro Line 9 last Friday has been found and detained, Shanghai Metro police yesterday, while arrests have also been made in Hong Kong over similar incidents.

Metro police on the hunt for train molester.[Photo/weibo.com]

Police said they traced the man, in his 30s, to his company. He apologized for his actions, the Xinmin Evening News reported yesterday.

Pictures posted online on Sunday showed the man touching the thighs of a woman wearing shorts and seated next to him on Metro Line.

When the woman stood up to avoid him, the man also stood by her side. The entire episode was captured on a phone camera by another passenger, who posted the pictures on his microblog. He claimed that he told the woman to lodge a complaint with the police but she preferred not to.

The pictures whipped up a storm, forcing the police to act. Police said they will not be able to press charges against the man if the woman does not show up and testify.

Meanwhile, Hong Kong police said they had detained a man who was found taking pictures of a young Shanghai woman's underpants in a subway station on Monday. He has been charged with outraging public decency.

The 50-year-old jobless man, surnamed Woo, followed three students, who are from Shanghai and studying in Hong Kong, and took pictures of one of them with his cellphone while they were on an escalator in Tsim Sha Tsui station in Hong Kong.

Police found seven other videos on his cellphone. The man faces up to a year in jail and a fine of HK$5,000 (US$644). On the mainland, the stiffest penalty is only 15 days in custody.

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