Domestic abuse victim saved after making ‘Signal for Help’ gesture, raises awareness

SHAH ALAM - A woman was rescued after she made the ‘Signal for Help’ gesture with her hands in public at a carnival in Petaling Jaya.

A TikTok user @hazrulhaliliceokaw shared a video on his account, garnered over 29,100 views and comments from social media users.

In the video, the woman walked with her partner and checked out booths like the other carnival-goers.

However, Hazrul noticed that as the woman was standing in front of a booth, she had signalled for help as she held her hand behind her back with her thumb tucked into her palm before folding her fingers down to trap her thumbs.

She was seen doing the signal several times before Hazrul realised that the gestures made were intentional and a sign for help.

Hazrul sought help from other good Samaritans as well as carnival organisers before he approached the woman and her partner.

He also claimed that the woman’s body had signs of being abused and the woman eventually revealed what happened to her.

The woman claimed that she was abused by her boyfriend who was under the influence of drugs and she had previously been tied and scalded by hot boiling water.

Hazrul called the police and asked for carnival crews to help catch the suspected abuser as well, and the man was handed over to the police.

He then highlighted that it was important for the public to know the ‘Signal for Help’ sign so that more victims could be saved.

“Many people still don’t know the help gesture. Thank you to all who helped the victims. Hopefully, things will be made easier and I hope the victim’s family is strong with this test,” he expressed in his post.

Hazrul also posted another video update saying he was also called to the police station to provide a statement as a witness.

He was also contacted by the father of the victim through WhatsApp and expressed his gratitude to him for coming forward with the report.

Meanwhile, TikTok user @Melinarrashop_Official suggests putting up the gestures on signboards at public places to raise awareness because not many people were aware of the gestures.

Another user @kakyazzcomey expressed her gratitude for sharing and making it an awareness.

“Thank you for sharing even, I was not aware of this gesture,” they said in the comment section.