Alleged rape victim returns to Malaysia

Manila yesterday formally returned to Kuala Lumpur the 13-year-old Malaysian girl who was allegedly raped by three Malaysian policemen in Sabah, the case that triggered a diplomatic row between the two south-east Asian countries.

Philippine Social Welfare Secretary Corazon Soliman who accompanied the girl on a flight to Malaysia to formally hand her over to Malaysian authorities, said the two countries have agreed to continue sharing information on the case.

"We will continue our cooperation with Malaysia regarding the case," she told reporters before the flight. "We will be getting updates on the case from Malaysian authorities."

Officials said the girl, identified only as Angelica, was erroneously deported to the Philippines in September along with thousands of Filipinos in a crackdown against illegal migrants in the eastern Malaysian state of Sabah. Initially identified as a Filipino, Angelica had complained on her return here that she was raped at a detention centre in Malaysia.

Philippine President Gloria Arroyo expressed outrage and asked Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohammed in a strongly worded letter to immediately act on the complaint.

Manila also lodged a diplomatic protest against Kuala Lumpur over the issue.

Malaysian police sent to Manila to investigate the case later found the girl to be a homeless Malaysian citizen who had been associating with illegal Filipino migrants in Sabah.

Mahathir then demanded an apology from Manila, but Manila's Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) rejected it. Filipino officials said the problem would not have arisen if Malaysia had not deported the girl in the first place.

But Malaysian Ambassador to Manila, Taufik Mohammed Noor, said Sunday: "The fact that she was wrongly deported to the Philippines does not necessarily make the diplomatic protest by the Philippines right."

"Let's put the issue aside and work towards improving our bilateral relations," he said.