Is bush happy about Kuwaiti rapes?

Filipinas 'raped' in Kuwait

Saturday 22 November 2003, 18:11 Makka Time, 15:11 GMT

More than 60,000 Filipinos live and work in the Gulf state

Three Kuwaiti policemen have been placed under investigation for allegedly raping a runaway Filipina maid, local media said.

Security forces are also hunting for three suspects who kidnapped and raped two more Filipina girls, a newspaper reported on Saturday.

In the first incident, the three policemen allegedly raped the maid at the police station where she was being held after fleeing her employer's house, al-Rai al-Aam said.

The policemen have denied the allegations, the daily added.

In the second incident, three unidentified suspects allegedly abducted two Filipinas from a Kuwait City district and took them to a desert camp where they raped them, it said.

Outrage

Last week, nine Kuwaiti teenagers were arrested for allegedly abducting and gang-raping a Filipina domestic helper at a desert camp.

The case prompted Philippines Foreign Secretary Blas Ople to summon Kuwait's Charge d'affaires in Manila, Nayif al-Utaibi, on Wednesday to express outrage over the incident.

"I have asked the Charge d'affaires of the Kuwaiti embassy to come to the department so I can convey to the government of Kuwait our urgent and strong desire that the perpetrators of this heinous crime be brought to justice," Ople said.

An official delegation is due to arrive in Kuwait next week to follow up the case.

More than 60,000 Filipinos live and work in the oil-rich Gulf Arab emirate, many of them domestic helpers.