China urges Malaysia to fully probe into assault cases against Chinese citizens

China urged the Malaysian side to continue making thorough investigations on the assault and humiliation of Chinese citizens in Malaysia, Shen Guofang, assistant to Chinese foreign minister, said Monday in Beijing.

The Chinese government values the protection of dignity and safety of Chinese citizens and deeply concerns about the incident, Shen said when meeting with visiting Malaysian Minister of Interior Azmi Khalid.

Shen reiterated China's principle and position on the cases, saying that the Chinese government deeply concerns about the matter that Chinese citizens had been successively humiliated and assaulted in Malaysia.

China hopes that the Malaysian side would fully realize the urgency and graveness of the matter, Shen said, urging the Malaysian side to conduct a thorough investigation on the cases in an earnest and responsible manner, sternly punish the offenders involved the cases in accordance with law at an early date and take effective measures to prevent the reoccurrence of such incident.

Azmi said China is a very important friendly country of Malaysia. The Malaysian government values Malaysia-China relations, and expressed regret and apology for the assault cases against Chinese citizens.

Malaysia attaches great importance to the disposal of the cases, Azmi said, noting that under the instruction of Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, a special investigation committee has been set up by the Malaysian government and is making earnest investigation on the cases, Azmi said.

Malaysia will inform China of the final investigation result as soon as possible and take effective measures to avoid recurrence of such cases in future, Azmi said.

The Minister of Interior paid the visit to China under the instruction of Malaysian Prime Minister Badawi for the purpose to clarify the assault cases against Chinese citizens.

Officials from Chinese Ministry of Public Security and National Tourism Administration also met with Azmi on separate occasions on Monday.

Source: Xinhua