Wisma Putra confirms NZ sex assault suspect a Malaysian diplomat

Wisma Putra has confirmed that a Malaysian diplomat is a suspect in a New Zealand sex assault case, saying he will stand trial if there is assurance of justice.

Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Anifah Aman (pic) told The Star yesterday that the accused was a Malaysian diplomat and that he had been recalled.

Anifah was also quoted by the English daily as saying that Wisma Putra was not “protecting” him and he had asked that police investigations in New Zealand be allowed to continue in the interest of justice.

“Just because he is a diplomat does not mean he gets off scot-free. Diplomatic immunity is not about having the licence to commit crime. I have spoken to our High Commissioner (in New Zealand),” he said.

On why the diplomat had been recalled, Anifah told The Star there could have been a misinterpretation of an email sent to Wisma Putra by the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

Anifah, who is scheduled to hold a press conference on the issue today, said the diplomat would be returned to Wellington only if he was assured of a fair trial and that his life was not in danger there.

New Zealand (NZ) revealed that it was pursuing the extradition of a diplomat who had been accused of "assault with intent to commit rape" in Wellington last month.

The diplomat, said to be in his 30s, was detained for having allegedly followed a 21-year-old woman to her house, then sexually assaulting her. He was also charged with burglary over the same incident.

But, the man “fled” New Zealand to return to his own country when he invoked diplomatic immunity after his arrest on May 9.

The identity of the diplomat and his nationality have not been revealed by the media in New Zealand after a judge there issued a suppression order on his details.

NZ Prime Minister John Keys told the media yesterday morning that his administration had demanded that the man's diplomatic immunity be waived but was rebuffed.

"It was our strong preference that this person be held to account in New Zealand, but this was refused by the sending country," Keys was quoted by the media, adding that he was given an assurance that the diplomat will be held accountable in his own country

Meanwhile, NZ foreign minister Murray McCully today warned that if the diplomat does not face the charges, it will affect relations between the country involved and New Zealand.

"It will have a bearing on how we deal with the country concerned," McCully told New Zealand daily The Dominion Post.

He was also quoted as saying that officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) had made clear New Zealand's wish that the diplomat, now back in his home country, would face justice.

- TMI