MANILA - Relations between the Philippines and Malaysia came under new strain Thursday after Manila reacted furiously to reports a 13-year-old Filipina girl was raped while awaiting deportation.

Last night, President Gloria Arroyo sent a letter to Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad demanding swift prosecution of the alleged attacker, identified by local reports here only as a policeman assigned to a detention center in Kota Kinabalu.

Philippine Foreign Secretary Lauro Baja said today the government was studying the possibility of filing a complaint with the United Nations Human Rights Commission over the incident.

The strong reaction came despite Malaysia's denial the incident took place, and follows weeks of tension over conditions in deportation camps in the eastern Malaysian state of Sabah.