A man who touched a female passenger's leg on a train in Beijing, China got more than he bargained for when she attacked him by hitting him across the face, says reports on Monday (10 October).

During the incident, a man starts to rub a woman's thigh, while keeping his face covered by a book. After the woman moves away several times, she finally loses patience before standing up to hit him.

More from IBTimes UK

The incident was filmed by another passenger and went viral when the video was posted online to video sharing site LiveLeak.

Other passengers who watched the assault made comments to the man, including one who called him a "Creepy f****** weirdo!", according to a Daily Star report.

Another said: "Sit next to a young woman and snake your fingers onto her thigh."

While a third remonstrated: "Jeez, man, once she's shifted away from you twice, take the hint."

Sexual harassment and assaults are becoming more prevalent in China with proposals of introducing women-only train cars on the Beijing subway during rush hour, according to Nanfang.

"By setting up special carriages, women will be better respected and protected," Xiao Mingzheng, one of the two members responsible for raising the proposal said at the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC).

For many, posting footage of sexual assaults is often their only form of redress, says an NDTV report. An attack on a woman in Beijing drew little police attention and it was only when the victim, using the soubriquet Wanwan, made public the assault on microblogging site Weibo and uploaded a video of herself that it received public attention. On sharing site Youku, it received over 7 million views.

The International Crime Victims Survey by the United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute found the rate of sexual assault reporting in Beijing was one of the lowest in the world.

China