Malaysian diplomat has sexual motive in attack: New Zealand judge

A Malaysian diplomat who sparked an international incident when he attacked a woman in her Wellington home had a sexual motive for the attack, a New Zealand judge decided Tuesday.

Muhammad Rizalman, 39, who was Malaysian defense attache in Wellington when the attack occurred in May last year, admitted the charges in the High Court in Wellington last month.

However, he disputed the facts of the case and asked the judge to decide the matter.

The court had heard that the victim, Tania Billingsley, was watching a movie on her laptop at her home when Rizalman -- naked from the waist down -- entered the house through an unlocked door.

Rizalman grabbed Billingsley by the shoulders and a struggle ensued, before she removed him from the house and called the police.

Rizalman's lawyer, Donald Stevens, told the court that Rizalman was suffering from a mental illness at the time of the incident and would seek a discharge without conviction.

The judge, Justice Collins, issued his decision Tuesday, saying Rizalman did have a sexual motive when he attacked Billingsley.

The judge also said that while Rizalman did have "an abnormal state of mind" at the time, this was not a mitigating factor as he had likely been affected by drugs that he had voluntarily consumed.

The judge had called for a pre-sentence report, including a report concerning Rizalman's eligibility for home detention, which "should be served under careful supervision in the Malaysian High Commission."

He had asked New Zealand's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) to initiate inquiries with the High Commission to see if it would be willing to cooperate with such a sentence.

The case became an international incident after Rizalman was allowed to claim diplomatic immunity and return home in the wake of the offense.

The revelations and ensuing scandal forced the New Zealand government to make an embarrassing request for Rizalman's extradition, which occurred in October last year.

Foreign Minister Murray McCully launched the ministerial inquiry in June last year after revelations that the MFAT had mistakenly given Malaysian diplomats the impression that New Zealand officials would not object to Rizalman claiming immunity and returning home.

McCully said in December last year that the inquiry had been completed with a raft of recommendations, but it would not be published until the end of Rizalman's trial. Endit