Malaysian judge throws out women's convictions


AFP , KUALA LUMPUR
Wednesday, Sep 13, 2006,Page 4
A Malaysian judge has thrown out convictions of Chinese and Vietnamese women arrested in a pub and karaoke bar, accusing officials of bias against foreign women, a report said yesterday.

The 11 Chinese and three Vietnamese women were arrested on July 19 in Perak state, and charged as though they were prostitutes.

Malaysian police periodically round up foreign women in nightclubs and bars, and accuse them of soliciting customers.

But High Court judge V.T. Singam, hearing the women's appeal against the charge they had breached their tourist visas, said there was no evidence of what they had been doing. He also accused law enforcement officers of being prejudiced and conducting a shoddy investigation.

"If that's the attitude, foreigners will not want to enter the country or go to entertainment centers because they would be scared of being arrested for so-called breaking the conditions of the visa," Singam was quoted as saying in the New Straits Times.

"Even if they were seen with local customers, we cannot assume that they were entertaining them," the judge said.

"It is adding salt to injury by saying that they were prostitutes," he said.

Deputy public prosecutor How May Ling conceded the charge had not specified what visa condition had been breached, and that the women were arrested before the date and time their alleged offence had taken place.

She also admitted the women were charged as though they were prostitutes despite the lack of evidence because a prosecuting officer said they "were welcomed because they were tourists but were home-wreckers because they were prostitutes."

Malaysia last year launched efforts to woo back Chinese tourists after visitor numbers dropped sharply over alleged harassment.


http://www.taipeitimes.c...es/2006/09/13/2003327410