Malaysia to probe into Chinese woman abuse
(Straits Times/AFP)
Updated: 2005-11-29 11:44

Malaysia defends police over abuse

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia on Monday defended its police force amid a furore over the apparent abuse of an ethnic Chinese woman in custody, saying stripping suspects was part of its operational procedure.

But the remark by Noh Omar, deputy internal security minister whose ministry oversees the 80,000 police force, drew fire from opposition lawmakers who warned that the police action could hurt ties with China.

The scandal erupted after a video clip emerged of the naked woman prisoner who was forced to perform squats while a policewoman in a Muslim headscarf looked on.

However, Noh said stripping was necessary to ensure detainees do not conceal unlawful items like drugs. The squats are designed to help reveal items secreted in internal body cavities.

"The police and I say, we follow the regulation. If people want to challenge, let's take it to court. Challenge the government, summon the police, we say we follow the regulation," he told reporters outside parliament.

Human rights lawyers have said that the technique is not legal, and opposition leader Lim Kit Siang said that police regulations cannot override the laws of the country.

"We do not want the police to be law unto itself or else it makes a mockery of parliamentary democracy and Malaysia is just a police state," he said.

Lim, who is the chairman of the Democratic Action Party, warned that if the government failed to punish the police officers responsible it could cause embarrassment ahead of two regional summits to be held here in December.

"I hope it will not cast a shadow on Malaysia and China relations and most importantly next month's summit whether it is the Southeast Asian Summit or the inaugural East Asian Summit involving leaders from China," he said.

"If there are more and more of these stories emerging in the media in China and the message conveyed that there is no readiness to ensure there is no repitition, I think it will cast a shadow on the ties."

Deputy international trade and industry minister Mah Siew Keong said the incident had attracted wide publicity in China, Hong Kong and Taiwan and urged the government to act swiftly.

"This will affect us. It will (have) serious repercussions on Malaysia in
terms of tourism. Our neighbours are watching us. If we are not serious, it will affect tourist arrivals," he said.

The incident comes as Chinese tourist numbers fall dramatically, with just 202,620 arriving here between January and August this year in a 47.8 percent drop from the same period last year.