Police investigating the alleged rape of a Sabah minor today said the Attorney General's Chambers is expected to announce their decision whether to charge the suspected rapists or not but urged the public to be patient while the deputy public prosecutor in charge of the case fulfills current commitments.

Bukit Aman CID (Special Investigation) principal assistant director Takbir Ahmad Nazir said the police had already submitted their findings to the public prosecutor's office since early January and that the deputy public prosecutor assigned to the case is still studying them.

"We have handed the case to the deputy public prosecutor. The DPP has been studying the case and we are expecting them to make a decision soon. But we must give them some time as the DPP is also handling a high-profile case in Perak now," he explained.

The case first came into the media spotlight in August last year amidst controversy over Malaysia's treatment of Filipino illegal immigrants who were being sent back to southern Philippines in a mass deportation exercise.

The rape claims of the girl sparked a diplomatic tiff between Kuala Lumpur and Manila after Philippine president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo issued a sternly-worded letter to Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

However, the girl was later found to be a Malaysian and returned to Sabah in December. She has been under the care of the state's welfare services since then.

No doubt over citizenship

Responding to questions from some quarters if the delay in charging the individuals suspected to committing the rape could be due to lingering doubts over the girl's nationality, Takbir dismissed all speculation saying that there is no question over the minor's nationality.

"We have done a DNA test and her father holds a Malaysian identity card. As far as we are concerned, there are no problems with this," he said.

In addition, Takbir said that police had also traced the girl's birth to a local hospital.

"As far as the law is concerned, as long as either parent is Malaysian, the child is entitled to be a Malaysian citizen," he said.

Malaysian street children

In another development stemming from concerns over the welfare of street children in Sabah following the alleged rape case, a Suhakam official said a report will soon be submitted to the Social Welfare Department.

Officer-in-charge of Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam)'s Sabah branch Japiril Suhaimin said the investigating team found that most of the street children working in the state's capital Kota Kinabalu were Malaysians and not of foreign nationality.

"Most of them are Malaysians but their parents send them out to sell things to make a living," he said.

According to Japiril, Suhakam would be recommending for the Social Welfare Department to "look after the children".

Among others, the officer said the department should find out the problems faced by parents of the children and why the children had been sent out to work.

Suhakam's investigation started in late December to address concerns over possibilities that Malaysian children might be mistakenly deported to neighbouring countries during anti-illegal immigrant operations, as happened with the 13-year-old.

Suhakam had also said that the move was taken to ensure that an estimated 4,000 street children in Kota Kinabalu would be provided with some form of welfare assistance.