Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad pledged swift action today over a complaint by Philippines President Gloria Arroyo that a 13-year-old Filipina girl was raped by a Malaysian policeman before being deported during a crackdown on illegal immigrants.

"The Malaysian government and I personally view with serious concern the allegation made by a Filipino minor ... that she was a victim of sexual molestation in one of the detention centres in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah," Mahathir said in a statement.

"I have directed that a swift and thorough investigation be conducted by the authorities concerned to verify the allegation.

"I would like to assure the government and people of the Philippines that appropriate action will be taken against those responsible in accordance with Malaysian laws."

Personal outrage

Mahathir's statement came in response to a letter from Arroyo yesterday expressing her "personal outrage and that of the Filipino people" over the alleged rape.

Asked by reporters how he felt about the strongly-worded complaint from Arroyo, Mahathir said: "Well, it is strongly worded because they feel very angry about it. And our people should learn that they cannot get away with this kind of thing. This is damaging for them and the nation."

The rape case is the latest cause of friction over Malaysia's crackdown on illegal immigrants, which has seen more than 380,000 people fleeing or being deported ahead of tough new punishments including jail and caning.

Arroyo had already despatched a seven-man government team to investigate charges that a number of children of illegal immigrants had died after being poorly treated at detention camps in Sabah.

Malaysia's mass expulsion of illegal immigrants, who flock to the relatively wealthy Southeast Asian nation in search of jobs, also sparked protests in Indonesia. AFP