Media Statement
by DAP Wanita National Secretary and MP for Seputeh, YB Teresa Kok
in Petaling Jaya
on Wednesday, 16 October 2002

The government should stop the bilateral quarrel with the Philippines over the incident of the 13 year-old girl who was allegedly raped and concentrate instead on the effort to investigate the case.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Mahathir Mohamed had twice requested the Philippines to apologise to Malaysia for mistakenly identified the nationality of the 13 year-old girl who was alleged raped at a temporary detention deport in Sabah.

The real problem at hand is that, although investigations had been carried out for several months, there has yet to be any results from the police.

Whether the victim is a Malaysian or Filipino, the government should still bear full responsibility and apologise to the victim and her family regardless of her nationality.

Hence, the government should stop the bilateral quarrel with the Philippines and concentrate instead on the effort to investigate the incident of the teenage girl who was believed to have been raped by three Malaysian police officers. If the government stubbornly continues with its request for an apology, it will only worsen the bilateral relationship between the two countries.

The Malaysian police force should also conduct an investigation immediately to put a stop to the poor ethics that are plaguing police officers and their failure to protect the people in this country and commitment to create a crime-free environment so as to ensure that they observe the rules of the country.