3 men arrested after separate sexual offences on TransLink network

Three men have been arrested by Metro Vancouver Transit Police for separate sexual offences along the transit system.

Bus passenger

The first of the alleged offences occurred on April 28, at 3:15 pm, on an eastbound bus on 41st Avenue, at Fraser Street.

The victim, a woman travelling to pick up her daughter, was groped by a man sitting beside her. After she resisted and told him not to touch her, the man got off the bus at 41st Avenue and Windsor Street. The woman then called Transit Police to report the incident.

A similar incident took place on May 9, at 6:45 am, on bus travelling east on Hastings Street, near Boundary Road.

A woman travelling to BCIT when she was reportedly groped by a man sitting beside her. After trying to push his hand away, she got up and changed seats. The woman then got off the bus at BCIT and reported the incident. The suspect stayed on the bus.

Transit Police officers conducted investigations into both incidents, obtaining video from the two buses. They identified the suspect in both incidents as 60-year-old Chia Ning Liu, who police say is well known to them.

Liu, who has no fixed address, was arrested by Transit Police officers at Waterfront Station on May 20, 2017, at approximately 8:30 am, in connection with the two incidents.

He appeared in court and been remanded until June 5, 2017, when he is scheduled to reappear in Vancouver Provincial Court.

Surrey Central

On May 21, at 7:40 pm, a woman told Transit Police officers at the Surrey Central bus loop that a man had “been making rude sexual remarks to her for several minutes” and had allegedly “reached into his pants, several times, to touch himself.”

The suspect was taken into custody, interviewed, and later released on a Promise to Appear, for Indecent Act, with conditions. The 44-year-old is a Surrey resident and known to police as well. He is scheduled to appear in Surrey Provincial Court on July 6, 2017.

Canada Line

On May 27, at 4:10 pm, a man reportedly saw another man exposing his genitals on the Canada Line train at Olympic Village Station.

The suspect left the station, and was reported to have exposed himself to another man at a bus stop in the 500 block of West 2nd Avenue. Both incidents were reported to Transit Police but the suspect wasn’t located.

Then, at 5:55 pm, police received reports of a man matching the description of the suspect in the earlier incidents, “waving scissors around while yelling at a passersby and exposing himself,” in the 3900 block of Point Grey Road.

The 21-year-old, a Vancouver resident, was arrested at 4th Avenue and Wallace Street, interviewed and later released on a Promise to Appear, for two counts of Indecent Act, in Vancouver Provincial Court on July 12, 2017.

“Transit Police are committed to taking every report of unwanted sexual behaviour seriously and investigating thoroughly,” the agency said in a release.

“We encourage anyone who is a victim or witness of this type of behaviour to contact us immediately. Together we can make a difference. Text us directly and discreetly at 87 77 77 or call us at 604-515-8300.”