M'sia Receives Extradition Requests From Time To Time, Says M'sian Home Minister

PUTRAJAYA (Malaysia), Feb 24 (Bernama) -- Malaysian Home Minister Hishammuddin Tun Hussein said Malaysia would allow the extradition of foreigners detained by authorities in the country if there were requests from countries concerned. Malaysia is firm in this matter to avoid the country from being regarded a 'safe haven' or transit place for criminals, he added. He said Malaysia received extradition requests from foreign countries for criminal suspects detained by the police or immigration authority in the country from time to time. He told a media conference after the ministry's monthly assembly here Thursday, he said Malaysia had received a request from Thailand for the extradition of an Iranian on suspicion of being involved in the bomb explosions in Bangkok last week. Two days ago, Thai Foreign Ministry spokesman Thani Thongpakdi, was reported to have said that Bangkok had sent an extradition request for Masoud Sedaghat Zadeh, 31, who was detained at the Low Cost Carrier Terminal (Sepang, Malaysia) last Feb 15. The Iranian, who had arrived from Thailand the night before, was leaving for Iran when detained. In another development, Hishammuddin said the ministry was also focusing on addressing the problem of 'stateless children'. He said the problem was detected in Sabah and several major towns in the country. -- BERNAMA