What had led the local media, and just about everyone else, to assume the woman in the nude squat video-clip as a Chinese national?

Her identity was only confirmed on Tuesday when she appeared before a panel of inquiry probing into the 71-second clip taken using a mobile phone camera. And she was not a foreigner but a local.

No one knows what happened that dawn at the Petaling Jaya district police headquarters six months ago except those involved but the scandal has evoked waves of aftershocks.

The she-is-a-Chinese-national assumption is a classic case of putting the horse before the cart.

First by the politicians, who expressed shock over the clip, then by the media and followed closely by the public fed with unbridled speculations and conflicting public statements.

The clip made headlines following Seputeh member of parliament Teresa Kok's 'screening' of it to a few MPs, among them Backbenchers Club chairperson Shahrir Abdul Samad and Home Affairs Minister Azmi Khalid.as well as the media at the Parliament lobby on Nov 24.

The clip has since been confirmed as having been recorded in June and widely circulated via MMS (multimedia messaging service).

Knee-jerk responses

Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Mohd Nazri Aziz, who heads the parliamentary human rights caucus, was quoted in the Star concluding that "the video clip proved that what several Chinese women had previously alleged was true".

His reference was to the reports by four female Chinese nationals earlier in November who had alleged similar treatment while in police custody.

Deputy Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak's responded by assuring a speedy probe to uncover those responsible of forcing "a Chinese woman tourist" to do the ear squats.

He was quoted by national news agency Bernama as saying that it could also impact Malaysia-China relations and credited the clip to being the first such video evidence of police abuse.

It is unclear whether his reference to the woman were his own words or based on reporters' questions.

It took Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, upon returning from Malta on Nov 28, to order a royal commission of inquiry into the clip. Why didn't Najib do so earlier?

Flood of speculations

Media reports quoting police sources which offered different takes on the issue further compounded the situation.

A police confirmation or denial could have plugged the rising tide of speculation but none was forthcoming.

As the key player, they could have stopped the speculative frenzy dead on its tracks by disclosing vital information.

Giving the story a minor twist, MCA public service and complaints department head Michael Chong on Nov 26 - two days after the expose - told reporters that Selangor police had started investigations even before the clip was 'released'.

Chong had reportedly informed state police chief Yahaya Udin of the clip, which was forwarded to him the previous weekend, and was told that they were close to finding the culprit.

Now, why wasn't the on-going internal probe mentioned after the clip became public? What took police investigators so long to identify the culprit, the policewoman and the detainee?

The station diary would have these details logged.

On Nov 28, Deputy Internal Security Ministry Noh Omar cleared the strip-search as lawful based on the findings of an internal police probe. No further details were given.

The same day, Deputy IGP Musa Hassan reportedly said strip-searches were a standard operating procedure in drug-related cases or those involving serious crime suspects.

He said nothing about the identity of the woman in the clip except that a search was on for the person who shot the footage of the naked woman performing ear squats in the locker room through an open window.

Dodging bullets

As if dodging live ammo, the police continued to evade many more related questions.

The ensuing scandal not only tarnished the image of the Royal Malaysian Police and the country but reportedly ruffled feathers in Beijing.

But in the absence of positive identification, why was the government so quick to assume that the woman was indeed a Chinese national?

Two days after the clip's 'release' at the Parliament lobby, Bernama quoted Azmi appealing for the woman to come forward with assurances of protecting her privacy.

By this time, the local media had already linked the woman in the clip to the four Chinese nationals, some even speculating that the woman could be one of them.

To make matters worse, Azmi's offer of a temporary extension, if the woman had in fact overstayed, until the matter was resolved only served to reinforce the presumption.

On Dec 5, he was quickly dispatched to Beijing along with an olive branch and to reaffirm Malaysia's stance against the profiling of Chinese women.

The trip had initially been scheduled in response to the earlier allegations by the four female Chinese nationals as well as numerous other complaints of the maltreatment of Chinese tourists and students.

Up to this point, the top brass in government and police had ample time to clarify the video-clip issue.

The inadequate responses and the lack of forthrightness fed the rumour mill, which ultimately led to the woman being mistakenly identified.

Speculation thrives when there is a vacuum of vital information. In the end, everyone got it wrong.