She claimed to be gang-raped in front of her husband. But when the Indian national couple went to lodge a report, they were arrested instead for 'overstaying'.

This has incensed Parti Reformasi Insan Malaysia (Prim) pro-tem secretary-general P Uthayakumar.

"Where is the compassion?" asked the irate lawyer when contacted.

"She is a victim, not a criminal. She needs counseling and not to be thrown in jail where she would suffer more," he added.

In the incident last month, it was reported that several men had forcibly taken a labourer and his wife to a house in Subang Jaya after accusing the couple of stealing jewellery.

There were five men in the house and they had repeatedly assaulted the husband. When the men finished with him, they allegedly took turns to rape his 32-year-old wife as he watched in horror.

The couple was then released the following night in Brickfields where they lodged a report on the incident with the district police headquarters and had denied stealing anything.

According to Uthayakumar, Prim was informed by the police that the couple was detained for overstaying and remanded for 10 days.

It is believed that the couple is being held at the Sungai Buloh prison. However, this could not be confirmed. It is also not ascertained if they had been charged for any immigration offences.

Justice with mercy

However, Uthayakumar pointed out that 'justice must be tempered with mercy'.

"Overstaying is not the issue, rape is. If this is the justice system in this country then similar victims will suffer in silence out of fear," he said.

In a statement yesterday, Prim listed several demands in relation to this case.

It wanted the charges against the couple to be withdrawn, the alleged perpetrators be charged for the crime and the couple be given temporary immigration papers as well as welfare and financial assistance until the conclusion of the rape trial.

Apart from these, the party also called for the victim to be sent for counselling and be placed under the care of a competent welfare officer.

Why the silence?

Meanwhile, Uthayakumar also criticised the media, civil society and opposition parties for being silent on this matter.

"How is this incident any different from the nude-squat issue?" he asked, referring to a recent controversy sparked off by a video clip which showed a woman police detainee forced to do ear-squats in the nude.

The case had drawn widespread condemnation and saw the government responding swiftly. The victim was initially speculated to be a Chinese national but was later discovered to be a Malay Malaysian.

"Are they (the media, civil society and opposition) more concerned about the ethnicity of the victim than the gravity of the crime?" he questioned further.

Contacted later, Brickfields district police chief Dzuraidi Ibrahim confirmed that the report was lodged in Brickfields and the case had been referred to the Subang Jaya police.

However, he said that he could not recollect the details of the case and would need to check on the matter first.

Subang Jaya police chief Muhd Fuad Taib told malaysiakini that there were no latest developments concerning the case.

According to a news report last month, Fuad said the case was classified as rape and illegal confinement. He also confirmed that the couple was being held to facilitate investigations for overstaying.

He added that the police had raided the house in Subang Jaya and arrested two individuals.