The South African police have launched a high-level probe into allegations of sex slavery and prostitution at the Myanmar embassy in Pretoria.
The probe was launched after a 15-year-old Asian girl informed police last week that she had been sexually and physically abused there. The girl is now under the care of the child protection unit (CPU).
The Mail & Guardian was told she was brought into the country when she was eight. Senior Superintendent Mary Martins-Engelbrecht, a police spokesperson, this week confirmed that police were investigating the matter.
Martins-Engelbrecht said the case would be referred to the senior public prosecutor or the director of public prosecution after the investigation.
”We cannot divulge any further information regarding the ongoing investigation because the case is still sub-judice and it is not considered to be in the best interest of justice to elaborate on the allegations or the investigation at this stage,” she said.
A police report leaked to the M&G this week, however, gives a detailed account of the police investigation into the alleged sexual abuse at the embassy. The report, dated September 20, was compiled by Superintendent A Wiese, commander of the CPU.
It was submitted to the Pretoria area police commissioner, the national head of the unit that liaises with international police, and the national head of the family violence unit.
The report says the Pretoria district surgeon who examined the girl found that she had been ”sexually abused and possibly been misused for the purpose of prostitution”.
According to the report the girl escaped from the Myanmar embassy two weeks ago. She was found at Eersterust, in Pretoria, last week by a community member.
The community member contacted Eersterust police after the girl revealed that she had escaped from the Myanmar embassy and that she was ”sexually and physically” abused there.
The Eersterust police contacted the CPU and the child was handed over to the unit. The report states that Myanamar diplomats, led by Hla Myint, a minister counsellor at the embassy, tried to get the girl returned to the embassy, claiming she had run away.
The CPU rejected their request. Speaking to the M&G this week Myint denied that the girl had been sexually abused at the embassy. ”Your allegations are shocking to us. We are diplomats and we do not sexually abuse women,” he said.
”We have never had a female Asian working here. How can we sexually abuse a girl at the embassy? We have two female staff and both are locals,” he said. Myint also denied that there was a police investigation into the matter.
”Which police officer is investigating that? I do not understand why you are talking of an investigation because no one has been sexually abused here. We only have male staff members here and how can we sexually abuse a girl here?” he asked again.
But Ronnie Mamoepa, the Department of Foreign Affairs spokesperson, said his department has been informed of the alleged sexual assault of the 15-year-old Asian girl at the Myanmar embassy.
”We take these allegations very seriously and are following the matter closely. Because the matter is in the hands of the police — we do not want to pre-empt the outcome of the investigation by prejudging the matter.
”Because the young lady in question does not have a good command of English, the department assisted the police in securing the services of an interpreter to assist her during the police investigation,” Mamoepa said.
Asked about the diplomatic and legal implications of the case, Mamoepa said: ”Because the matter is still under investigation we cannot go into any detail about the implications as yet”.
But a senior official at the Department of Foreign Affairs this week said allegations against the Myanmar embassy are likely to strain relations between South Africa and the Southeast Asian country.
He said charges of child molestation against the embassy would force Pretoria to act ”decisively” against the embassy officials. The officials may be deported. ”We call it demarche. It is the highest action that the department can take. We call the ambassador in and then give him 24 hours to leave the country. The justice aspect would normally have to take its course in Myanmar,” he said.
Myanmar, which is also known as Burma, is a signatory of a United Nations treaty against sex slavery. It is ruled by a military junta that has been accused of gross human rights abuses.
The country is the second-largest producer of illicit opium after Afghanistan.
It has full diplomatic relations with South Africa. The diplomatic relations were established in April 1995 and the Myanmar embassy in South Africa was opened in June 1996. South Africa also has a diplomatic mission in Myanmar.
Total South African trade with Myanmar was R1,8-billion in 2001. South Africa mainly exports base metals, chemical and mineral products to the country and imports mostly footwear, vegetable products and machinery from Myanmar.