A former top judge charged with investigating the alleged abuse of a Chinese woman by Malaysian police on Monday vowed to get to the bottom of the affair which has sparked angry complaints from China.

A panel headed by former chief justice Mohamed Dzaiddin Abdullah, and including three government officials and a lawyer, met for the first time Monday to discuss how they would conduct their probe.

"My hope is for the best... the truth," Dzaiddin told a news conference. "The truth will prevail. Justice must be seen to be done."

The five, who also took part in a 2003 royal commission on the police force set up by Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, will start meeting regularly from Dec 12.

Asked if the panel's report would be made available to the public, Dzaiddin replied, "I for one will recommend that the report will be made public. The public wants to know. We don't want them to say that there's been a cover-up."

The case - dubbed "Malaysia's Abu Ghraib" after the Iraqi jail scandal - erupted when a video clip emerged of an unidentified woman prisoner, believed to be a Chinese national, who was forced to perform naked squats as a policewoman looked on.

The video emerged after several Chinese women complained to the media of being humiliated and robbed by Malaysian police officers, after they were accused of possessing fake passports.

Part of standard procedure

Police officials have said that forcing detainees to do naked squats is part of standard procedure to dislodge any concealed items.

The inquiry panel will investigate if the woman in the video was one of five Chinese nationals who were detained by the police, and if the body search of the woman in the video was inappropriate, Dzaiddin said.

The government pledged a complete and independent probe into the matter, which provoked an uproar among Malaysians.

Home Minister Azmi Khalid was due today to arrive in Beijing on a trip aimed at repairing relations after Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Wu Dawei last week summoned the Malaysian ambassador in Beijing in protest.

The incident comes after a huge drop in Chinese tourist arrivals to Malaysia of 44 percent this year.

The government has attributed the fall to increased competition from other tourist destinations but also blamed negative publicity over the treatment of Chinese nationals.