Home Ministry parliamentary secretary Abu Zahar Isnin caused a furore among DAP women MPs in the Dewan Rakyat today when he cast aspersions on the character of the 13-year-old girl who was allegedly raped while in police custody during the deportation of illegal immigrants from Sabah.

In answering a supplementary question from Mohd Ali Hassan (Barisan Nasional-Tebrau) on the government's reaction if the Philippines refused to apologise, Abu Zahar said: "We (the Malaysian authorities) have investigated and found that the girl is not of a good character.

"When she was arrested and put in the detention camp, she could not produce any document."