Philippines owes us apology over rape row: Mahathir
After suffering a humiliating reprimand from Philippine President Gloria Arroyo, Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad said the Philippines owes Malaysia an apology since the 13-year-old allegedly raped by Sabah police was confirmed to be Malaysian.
Mahathir echoed the sentiments of Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar who said yesterday that Manila should apologise for accusing Malaysians of "raping their [Filipino] people".
"You have to be a little bit more sensitive and a little bit more cautious in making statements that can lead to souring of relations between countries," he said to reporters after opening the International Nuclear Conference 2002 in Kuala Lumpur.
Malaysia and Philippines were embroiled in a diplomatic spat in the last two months over allegations that the13-year-old girl, initially thought to be a Filipina, had been raped by several police officers while awaiting deportation in a Sabah immigration camp.
News of the rape had spurred Arroyo to send a strongly worded letter to Mahathir demanding for action against the alleged perpetrators. Subsequently, the girl was found to be a Malaysian.
Police said yesterday she would be brought back to Malaysia to facilitate investigations into the rape.
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