However, Suri said the man lashed out at her as well, telling her to mind her own business.
In a post on Facebook, Suri said the man told her: “Who are you to meddle in my affairs? Not only that, you are not even wearing a headscarf.”
Her Facebook post soon went viral, with over 1,000 likes and hundreds of comments and shares at the time of writing.
Suri said the incident took place as she was going down an escalator.
She was almost at the end of the hallway when she saw a man repeatedly shoving a woman, whom she presumed was his wife or girlfriend.
Suri said the woman managed to escape his grasp. He was about to go after her when Suri intervened, telling him not to physically abuse his girlfriend.
The man then told her that the woman was his wife.
“As if that made it ok. If she is your wife, you don’t have to whack her like that. Why?” Suri said.
Suri, who is a member of Sisters in Islam, said the man then asked her what her problem was while behaving in a confrontational and aggressive manner.
Meanwhile, his friend, who was standing beside him with several bags told her not to get involved.
However, Suri replied, “If he wants to beat his wife like that, it is not only my problem. It is everyone’s problem. I can report.”
She said the man then sarcastically told her to lodge a report. He also called her degrading names and warned her not to interfere in his matters.
At this point, the man’s wife tried to apologise for her husband’s behaviour. That was when the man told Suri not to meddle in his affairs and added that she was not wearing a headscarf.
“I was walking away at this point, but when he yelled that out, I turned around and yelled back: ‘Hey! Lelaki Melayu dayus dah lah pukul bini and mulut mcm sial ada hati nak kutuk saya tak pakai tudung? Inilah masalahnya kalau dah bodoh!’
“(You hit your wife, you have a foul mouth, and yet you have the heart to curse me for not wearing a scarf?)”
Suri said as she walked away, she could still hear him cursing her. She then remembered that it would make sense to take a picture of him.
“I was already behind the turnstile. But whenever I pointed the phone towards him, he would attempt to hide behind someone and flick me off on the side.”