An online post claiming that a pregnant woman was punched several times by a man on a subway has sparked public outrage at the violence.

“My wife, who was returning home from work on subway Line 4, was attacked by a man around 7:10 p.m. on Sept. 1,” a man posted to his Facebook account.

In the post, the man says his 30-year-old wife, 10 weeks pregnant, was sitting on the seat reserved for the elderly and the weak when the man, surnamed Jang, 66, hit her on the shoulder after she refused to give up her seat.

According to the post, she told Jang she was pregnant but he cursed at her. After she got off at Suyu Station, she called the police, but Jang followed her and punched her again in the stomach.

Police arrived on the scene following the report and Jang was booked without detention for the assault charge, police said Sunday. But Jang denies the charge.

The incident gained wider attention Sunday after the post went viral on social media in Korea, some saying “this kind of person should be punished.”

The police said that they are investigating the case.

By Ahn Sung-mi (sahn@heraldcorp.com)