After suffering a humiliating reprimand from Philippine President Gloria Arroyo, Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad said the Philippines owes Malaysia an apology since the 13-year-old allegedly raped by Sabah police was confirmed to be Malaysian.

Mahathir echoed the sentiments of Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar who said yesterday that Manila should apologise for accusing Malaysians of "raping their [Filipino] people".

"You have to be a little bit more sensitive and a little bit more cautious in making statements that can lead to souring of relations between countries," he said to reporters after opening the International Nuclear Conference 2002 in Kuala Lumpur.

Malaysia and Philippines were embroiled in a diplomatic spat in the last two months over allegations that the13-year-old girl, initially thought to be a Filipina, had been raped by several police officers while awaiting deportation in a Sabah immigration camp.

News of the rape had spurred Arroyo to send a strongly worded letter to Mahathir demanding for action against the alleged perpetrators. Subsequently, the girl was found to be a Malaysian.

Police said yesterday she would be brought back to Malaysia to facilitate investigations into the rape.

No letter to Arroyo

When asked if he would write Arroyo a letter to inform her of the developments, Mahathir said, "No, I don't write letters."

He said the Philippine authorities should have checked with Malaysian authorities on the allegations before going to the press.

"They could have informed us instead of making a big noise for it to get into the papers. If there is a case, report it to us and we will look into it," he said.

Mahathir said the girl, believed to be homeless, was found in the company of Filipino illegal immigrants when arrested and deported to the Philippines.

"This girl, I understand, is also one of those street children. You don't know what she has been up to," he said.

Yesterday, Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar also called for the Philippines to issue an apology to Malaysia. He reportedly said that the incident should be a "lesson" to Filipinos not to be overly influenced by wild accusations made by certain quarters in the media.

DNA tests

Philippine news reports said the girl's father is believed to be a Chinese Malaysian while her mother is a Filipina. The reports also said that the girl was born in Malaysia and spoke Bahasa Malaysia.

Bukit Aman confirmed that DNA tests have proven the girl has a Malaysian father.

However, the spokesperson, who declined to be named, said investigations have yet to establish if the girl was raped.

"The medical check on whether she had been raped has not been concluded. Our investigators are still looking into the matter," he said.

Representatives at the Philippines embassy in Kuala Lumpur were unavailable for comment.

Last week, Philippines Consul General Luis Cruz told malaysiakini that the minor may hold dual citizenship since her mother is Filipina.

As such, he said that Manila would continue to pursue the case.