Wellington: New Zealand on Tuesday warned Malaysia of “consequences” for recalling a diplomat suspected of sexual assault, as Kuala Lumpur said it would extradite him back again if “absolutely necessary.”
Mohammad Rizalman Bin Esmail, a defence attache with the Malaysian High Commission in his 30s, was arrested in Wellington on May 9 and charged with burglary and assault with attempted rape after he followed a 21-year-old woman home, local media reported.
He appeared in court on May 10, and left the country in the following days, New Zealand news reports said.
If the diplomat did not face charges, it would “have a bearing on how we deal with the country concerned,” Foreign Minister Murray McCully said.
“We formally requested the sending country waive diplomatic immunity but they declined,” Prime Minister John Key told journalists on Monday, when the suspect’s name and country were still suppressed.
New Zealand had a very strong preference for the diplomat to be charged in the country, Key said.
“As a signatory to the Vienna Convention our hands are effectively tied, but we still expect justice for the victim.”
The suppression order was lifted on Tuesday after an appeal from media organisations concerned the man was about to be named in Malaysia.
Malaysia on Tuesday confirmed that a junior military official at its diplomatic mission in New Zealand returned home in disgrace using diplomatic immunity after being charged with sexual assault.
Foreign Minister Anifah Aman told reporters that a defence ministry panel will investigate Second Warrant Office Esmail and “stern action will be taken” if he is found guilty.
“Diplomatic immunity is not a license for them to commit crime,” he said.
Anifah said the accused will be sent back to New Zealand “if it is absolutely necessary.” Asked to elaborate, Anifah said he will be extradited if New Zealand requests it or if its government thinks the Malaysian investigation is not being conducted properly.
He said the accused was detained on May 9, and charged on May 10, and returned home with his family on May 22. Initially, Malaysia was willing to waive diplomatic immunity but decided to take up New Zealand’s offer to invoke diplomatic immunity and have him brought back home for investigations.
However, New Zealand’s Prime Minister John Key earlier indicated that his government would have preferred to keep the accused in New Zealand and try him there.
But Malaysia “stopped us from doing that my invoking diplomatic immunity,” he said.
The differing versions of the events could not be immediately reconciled.
Anifah said it was never Malaysia’s “intention to treat the matter lightly.”
He said, the accused was sent for medical checkup after his return. “His physical state is satisfactory. However he is now under psychiatric evaluation to assess his mental and emotional condition,” said Anifah.
The defence ministry has established a board of inquiry to investigate the case thoroughly and has given an assurance that “it will not compromise or conceal any facts on the case being fully aware that Malaysia’s good name is at stake,” he said.
Although this is an isolated case the government views the issue seriously. “The Malaysian government acknowledges that the incident is a serious matter and we do not have any intention to sweep the matter under the carpet.”
