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Malaysia probes abuse of Chinese women
(Reuters)
Updated: 2005-11-27 10:05
Malaysia has launched a probe into the abuse of a Chinese woman in
police detention, the latest in a spate of cases of young women from China being
badly treated.
A combination of video grabs from a mobile
phone video clip shows a young Chinese woman after she was stripped at a
police station in Malaysia. [Reuters] |
The
scandal surfaced amid reports that Chinese tourists are already staying away
from Malaysia because of allegations that the country's police and immigration
are targeting Chinese women, suspecting many are involved in prostitution.
Friday newspapers splashed a story about a mobile phone video clip that
purportedly showed a young Chinese woman being stripped and mistreated by a
woman constable in a police station.
"We have begun investigations to determine what the recording is actually
about," Hazam Abdul Halim, police chief for the Petaling Jaya district, told the
New Straits Times newspaper.
Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak called for stern action against the
culprits.
"I see that as something serious. This is a slap to our image," he told
reporters on Friday.
"I believe the prime minister and the cabinet view seriously this issue
because if the video clipping is true, it means this is an act that can affect
the image and integrity of the police and the government," he said.
Home Affairs Minister Azmi Khalid, who is due to visit Beijing on November
30, also expressed disgust.
"This should not have happened. If police personnel are really involved, then
this is police abuse," he said in parliament after viewing the clip.
"Profiling Chinese women, especially those below 35, as being involved in
vice should not have happened," he said.
Malaysia was a major destination for Chinese tourists until this year, when
there has been a marked drop in arrivals.
"These stories of harassment of women from China are certainly a deterrent
now for genuine tourists coming from that country," a top travel industry
official, who declined to be named, told Reuters.
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