Woman in viral video is a muay thai fighter

Brave fighter: Yeap, the woman who

PETALING JAYA: The woman featured in a recent video defending herself against snatch thieves is actually muay thai exponent Germaine Yeap.

Yeap, 28, revealed that the scene was staged to promote crime awareness, especially among women, with the message to remain vigilant at all times.

Although the video received many comments from unwitting netizens praising her bravery, Yeap cautioned viewers to give up their belongings.

“Hopefully the mugger will leave you alone. Only engage if you have no choice,” she said in another video released yesterday.

Yeap also said that witnesses of crimes can help by contacting the police.

“In the video, I fought back because I assessed the situation with my muay thai training and knew that I could take him down. When I saw the second ‘robber’ shouting with a knife though, I knew it was too much so I backed off and they got away,” she said.

She urged women to empower themselves by learning self-defence skills.

Both videos were released by local IPTV channel MaxMan.TV as part of a crime awareness initiative.

The first video, released on Nov 10, shows Yeap parking her car at her house porch as two men on a motorcycle observe her.

As she gets out of her car, the pillion rider gets off the motorcycle and slips into the house compound just before the gate shuts.

He tries to snatch her handbag but Yeap clings on to it and retaliates by kneeing him in the stomach and pushing him to the ground.

She then starts pounding the man until his accomplice comes to his aid by threatening her with a knife. She retreats as the “crooks” flee from their failed attempt to rob her.

Yeap, from Georgetown, Penang, picked up muay thai for fitness reasons five years ago. She started competing this year and has two wins under her belt while participating in the DBKL Mayor’s Cup and the Langkawi Z1 International Cup.