KEY POINTS:
A woman arrested during the torch relay in Malaysia is British, not a New Zealander as originally thought, Mfat has said.
The government controlled Malaysian National News Agency reported that one of four people arrested during the relay yesterday was a New Zealand teacher living in Kuala Lumpur.
New Zealand foreign affairs staff looked into the incident and today told nzherald.co.nz that the woman was British.
She was one of four foreigners arrested in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.
About 1,000 police officers were deployed along the 16.5 km route through the Malaysian capital.
The arrested woman was wearing a "Free Tibet" t-shirt and carrying a poster with the same words on it. A Japanese family of three, which included a five year-old, was also arrested after unfurling a banner with the words "Free Tibet" printed on it, the Malaysian National News Agency said.
The four were arrested at about 1.20pm local time while the torch travelled through Dataran Merdeka, a land mark square in the capital.
An entourage of torch-bearers and anti-terrorist guards roped off the square to traditional music and a lion dance performance as police sealed off streets and deployed mounted units, helicopters and water cannons to deter protesters.
The city's police chief, Datuk Muhammad Sabtu Osman, said the people arrested were released after giving statements to the police, the Malaysian National News Agency said.
- NZHERALD STAFF
