The Attorney-General's Chambers said two individuals have been charged in Sabah today for allegedly raping a 13-year-old girl while she was held in an immigration detention centre last year.

"We have charged two persons and bail has been refused. A date has been fixed for mention," said head of Prosecution Unit Mohd Yusof Zainal Abiden when contacted this afternoon.

Mohd Yusof said that legal representation was being arranged for the two accused, while the prosecution's case was handled by deputy public prosecutor Dzulkifli Ahmad from the department's Putrajaya headquarters.

"The DPP has gone to Sabah for the case," he said when asked where the charges were made. He declined to elaborate o­n the matter, referring it to the DPP-in-charge.

Seven identified earlier

However, Dzulkifli was unreachable for further comment. When contacted, the AG's Chambers Sabah branch said it did not have information o­n this morning's case.

According to a report in The Star today, the two suspects were said to be General Operations Force lance corporals who were o­n duty when the alleged rapes were supposed to have occurred.

The report said that the two have been interdicted since the rape allegations surfaced - which meant that they were allowed to remain in the police force although they were required to report to their supervisors daily.

They have been relieved of their duties and stripped of their police powers.

The public prosecutors' office decision to charge the two suspects came two months after the police concluded their investigations and submitted their findings for further action.

During the investigation carried out by a three-member federal police team, the girl was said to have identified seven persons from photographs.

However, it is uncertain why o­nly two persons have been charged for the alleged rape.

Diplomatic row

The case first came into the media spotlight last August after the girl was deported to the Philippines together with thousands of other Filipino undocumented immigrants during anti-illegal immigration operations carried out by state authorities.

The rape claims of the minor 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.