Singapore said it was told on September 9 by the Malaysian High Commission “that a thorough investigation of the case had been completed.”
“The report of the investigation was being finalised by the Malaysian Attorney General’s Chambers,” Foreign Affairs Minister K. Shanmugam was quoted by the Singapore Straits Times as telling the republic’s Parliament today.
Malaysia’s Home Ministry had said on October 5 that the Immigration Department had found that its officers had exercised their responsibilities in a “good and orderly” fashion as required under standard operation procedure during the June 9 incident.
Shanmugam said today his ministry has sought clarification from its Malaysian counterparts on Putrajaya’s statement and “as far as we are aware, the investigations have not yet concluded.”
Malaysia had said the women were detained on June 9 under Section 6(1)(C) of the Immigration Act for entering Malaysia without a valid pass and made to undergo standard “inspection procedures”, which were carried out by female immigration officials.
According to a Singapore Straits Times report on June 14, the two women, who had intended to drive to Johor Baru for supper, were questioned by Malaysian immigration officials, handcuffed, thrown behind bars and made to do squats while naked.
The two women claimed they drove through uninspected because the immigration lane was unmanned, and that no one answered the intercom.
Following their punishment, they were allowed to return to Singapore after 48 hours with a warning.
Both women have reportedly vowed never to return to Malaysia after the incident, which drew criticism from Malaysian opposition MPs who called the act “humiliating and ridiculous.”
The Malaysian Immigration Department suspended two officers following the incident but it insists that the detention was legal under the Immigration Act as they had entered the country without passing through biometric fingerprint checks.
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