The Sabah Federal Task Force today said its probe into the death of two Filipino child deportees four weeks ago have been completed and will be given to Philippine officials.

Their verdict? Its not our fault but theirs, said the state Task Force director Masri Barham.

Masri said the death of Timah Basir, 13, and Nurhani Nurmi, 3 - both deported on Sept 29 along with their undocumented migrant parents - had occurred while in the hands of Filipino authorities.

They were earlier detained at the Menggatal immigration detention center in Sabah.

Timah and Nurhani - who hail from Sumisip in Basilan, South Philippines - died soon after the Filipino-owned M/V Danica Joy which they had boarded left the Sandakan for Zamboanga City.

Timah succumbed on Sept 29 to severe malnutrition and hypoglycaemia while on the ferry, while Nurhani died at the Zamboanga City Medical Center on the evening of their arrival on Sept 30.

She had suffered from chronic gastroenteritis, severe malnutrition and severe pneumonia.

Masri, however, said Malaysian officials had asked the families of Timah and Nurhani if their children were alright before they had boarded the ferry.

Not our fault

Although Timah and Nurhani did have slightly raised temperatures, the authorities did not take the children to the nearby hospital as the parents themselves said they were alright, he disclosed.

"If the deportees really are sick, we do not let them go. We asked the parents (of Timah and Nurhani), and they told us they (their children) were okay. We confirmed the children were okay," Masri said when contacted today.

As soon as the Filipino-owned passenger ferry chartered by the Task Force leaves the port, it is no more the Task Force's responsibility but that of the captain. Upon reaching Zamboanga, the responsibility for the welfare of the passengers shifts again to the Philippine authorities.

"After the ferry had left the port, it's outside of our powers and control. They're not our responsibility. Their deaths is not our fault," Masri said, adding that those at the detention centers are checked by medical officers and sent for medical treatment when the needs arise.

"You can check our medical records at Menggatal," he said, adding that the costs of housing, feeding, and otherwise taking care of undocumented migrants are borne by the Malaysian authorities.

Delay in checking status

Explaining the children's deaths despite the presence of doctors on board the ferry itself, Masri suggested there were perhaps too many deportees for the doctors to pay adequate attention to Timah and Nurhani.

Alternatively, he said further, either insufficient medication were administered to the children while on the ferry or there was not enough medication to go round for all the sick passengers on board.

There were 531 deportees who had boarded the ferry on Sept 29. Over the past 10 months, 12,000 undocumented migrants have been deported, said Masri.

Masri also said Timah and Nurmin had been detained for between one to two months while checks were made with the Philippine embassy in Kuala Lumpur to certify their nationality.

Detainees are usually deported within two-three weeks if their records in the Philippines are in order, said Masri.

"Filipinos from the North usually get their documents faster because they are registered (in the Philippines). It's mostly those from southern Philippines and its small islands that do not have such records and therefore take a longer time to get their status certified," said Masri.

"Secondly, unlike the Indonesia which as a consulate in Kota Kinabalu, we have to conduct checks with the Philippine embassy in Kuala Lumpur, which in turn has to check with Manila," he added.

Masri said the report would be presented to Philippine embassy officials on their next checks of the immigration detention centers in Sabah.