SHE was nearly raped in her hostel and when she reported the matter to her university, urging tougher security, no one replied to her.

This was six months ago.

Fed up with the lackadaisical attitude, the student has now sued Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) for negligence, said The Star.

What made it worse was that UiTM had been lax about the incident and the authorities had wanted her to drop the case, she claimed.

The 21-year-old woman, a second-year Hotel and Tourism Management student, was not present but her lawyer filed the suit at the Shah Alam Sessions Court on Tuesday.

On 28 Nov last year, a naked man barged into the hostel's second-floor common bathroom and attempted to rape her.

Her lawyer, Mr Mohamed Hanipa Maidin, said: 'The victim took a fall after the man pushed open the door to her bathroom cubicle and, despite her screams, no one came to her rescue.'

Other students were asleep and there were no security guards around, he told reporters at a press conference held by Shah Alam Member of Parliament (MP) Khalid Abdul Samad yesterday, said liberal news portal Malaysian Insider.

Her attacker managed to molest her before she fought him off.

She also managed to run but fell again at the entrance of the common bathroom.

The man then gave up and ran off as she continued screaming.

According to Mr Mohamed Hanipa, students on the fourth floor saw a man running away. He was wearing what looked to them like a black bra and a pair of shorts.

The victim believed the man may have gained entry into the hostel by posing as a woman.

Mr Khalid said the victim's mother approached him on 26 Dec last year to ask for his help.

A letter was sent to the university on 30 Jan but there was no reply, he said.

He added: 'Filing the suit was the family's last option after waiting for an answer for so many months.'

Mr Khalid said much more was expected of UiTM.

The only help given to the victim, who is on study leave, is the flexibility to rejoin her course at any time - something she has indicated she won't be doing.

Mr Khalid alleges both the university and police had indicated to the victim she should just drop the complaint.

In her suit, the victim claimed that the incident was due to the defendant's negligence for failing to take necessary measures for the safety and security of the students.

Police have yet to arrest anyone over the incident.

When contacted, UiTM vice-chancellor Datuk Seri Prof Dr Ibrahim Abu Shah said the matter was being handled by the university's student affairs department.

This article was first published in The New Paper.