New Zealand warns Malaysia over diplomat's behaviour

New Zealand yesterday warned Malaysia of “consequences” for recalling a diplomat suspected of sexual assault, as Kuala Lumpur said it would extradite him again if “absolutely necessary”.

Muhammad Rizalman bin Ismail, a defence attaché with the Malaysian High Commission in his 30s, was arrested in Wellington on May 9 and charged with burglary and assault with attempted rape after he followed a 21-year-old woman home, local media reported.

He appeared in court on May 10, and left the country soon after, New Zealand news reports said. If the diplomat did not face charges, it would “have a bearing on how we deal with the country concerned”, Foreign Minister Murray McCully said.

“We formally requested the sending country waive diplomatic immunity but they declined,” Prime Minister John Key told journalists on Monday, when the suspect’s name and country were still suppressed.

New Zealand had a very strong preference for the diplomat to be charged in the country, Key said.

“As a signatory to the Vienna Convention our hands are effectively tied, but we still expect justice for the victim.” 

The suppression order was lifted yesterday after an appeal from media organisations concerned the man was about to be named in Malaysia.

In Kuala Lumpur, Foreign Minister Anifah Aman said the Defence Ministry would conduct its own investigation. If New Zealand was not satisfied and still requested extradition, the Malaysian government could comply, he said.

“If it is absolutely necessary, that we think it is best [to extradite him] we will do it, without hesitation,” Anifah said in a press conference. In apparent contradiction to Key’s statement, Anifah said Kuala Lumpur had offered to waive the accused diplomat’s immunity, and that it was New Zealand’s idea for him to be flown back to Malaysia.

“It was never our intention to treat the matter lightly,” he said. 

The Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations of 1963 says people working as diplomats are “inviolable” and therefore cannot be arrested or detained. It also states that diplomats cannot be prosecuted or punished by the host country for actions carried out in the line of duty. But the convention grants consular staff a lower level of immunity. They can be arrested and their residences can be searched.