KUALA LUMPUR: The woman at the centre of a diplomatic incident and the victim of an alleged attack has spoken out about her ordeal, New Zealand Herald reported.
It said that Tania Billingsley, 21, who was allegedly attacked by Malaysian warrant officer Muhammad Rizalman Ismail on May 9 applied to the courts to have the name suppression on her case lifted before speaking out publicly about her ordeal.
"I guess that I'm someone who has something to say about this assault. I mean it happened to me and throughout this whole process, especially once it's become so public, my voice hasn't been heard. And I do, obviously, have a lot to say about this. I'm not just a bystander," New Zealand Herald quoting Billingsley as saying.
Billingsley, a Wellington resident, said speaking out on tonight's Third Degree "put a face" to her case.
"I guess in making myself public I am making myself quite vulnerable ... just being so visible; it's quite a scary thing.
Rizalman is accused of following Billingsley home and assaulting her with intent to rape. After being arrested on May 9, he appeared in Wellington District Court the next day, but invoked diplomatic immunity and returned to Malaysia on May 22.
Rizalman, a former staff a former staff member at the Malaysian High Commission, has been allowed to go back to Malaysia, following mixed messages from an official at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
New Zealand Herald in its report said the New Zealand Government has maintained that it always wanted Rizalman to remain in the country and face the charges.
But an informal, ambiguous communication from officials led to a belief that Rizalman's return to Malaysia was acceptable to New Zealand.