Sabah minors rape case to proceed even without Filipino witnesses
The Attorney-General's Chambers today clarified that the prosecution's case against alleged rapists of a 13-year-old Sabah girl will still go ahead with or without Filipino witnesses.
Head of prosecution Mohd Yusof Zainal Abiden said the decision to charge two police officers for the rape rested on several factors and witness statements, and not solely on the statements by Filipino immigrants.
'No gap'
Contacted today, Mohd Yusof said: "Some statements are recorded from people who have been sent back to the Philippines. We may require one or two of them as witnesses but even without them, there will be not be a gap in the case.".
Last month, two General Operations Force lance corporals were charged with raping the minor while she was detained at a Sabah immigration detention last year.
However, doubts arose over the strength of the prosecution's case after Deputy Home Affairs Minister Chor Chee Heung told reporters in Parliament on Monday that there were difficulties in getting Filipino witnesses to return since they had been deported by state authorities.
Philippines' assistance sought
To facilitate the appearance of the witnesses for the hearing scheduled to start on May 26 Mohd Yusof said the authorities would need the assistance of the Philippines government.
"Whether or not they will be called as witnesses will be left to the prosecution team. However, (even) without them as witnesses, there would still be a case," he stressed.
According to Chor on Monday, the government had already requested for the Philippines government to send the witnesses over during the trial.
The deputy minister had added that prosecutors would proceed with the trial and that it was only "a matter of time".
Diplomatic tiff
The case first came into the media spotlight last August after the teenager was deported to the Philippines along with thousands of other Filipino undocumented immigrants during operations carried out by state authorities.
The rape claims 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 minor was later found to be a Malaysian and was returned to Sabah in December. She has been under the care of state's welfare services since then.
The Kota Kinabalu sessions court fixed May 26-29 for the trial and denied bail to the two men who face a maximum 20 years in jail, if convicted.
For more news and views that matter, subscribe and support independent media for only RM0.36 sen a day:
Subscribe now