KUALA LUMPUR - A DIPLOMATIC spat involving the wife of an Indonesian attache mistaken for an illegal migrant deepened on Wednesday, as Indonesian officials rejected Malaysian claims that she was never detained.

The Indonesian embassy has lodged an official protest over the incident, saying that Ms Muslianah Nurdin, wife of the education and culture attache, was detained by security officers while shopping in Kuala Lumpur.

However, Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak denied the charges and defended the actions of the officers from RELA, a volunteer security force frequently accused of heavy-handed tactics.

'The report is not true. The diplomat's wife was not detained. RELA only took a little more time to ascertain her status,' he told the state Bernama news agency late Tuesday.

The Indonesian embassy said Ms Nurdin was taken into custody.

'Holding a person is detaining (the individual). She was held together with other migrants by the side of a street for up to two hours,' said Mr Eka Suripto, first secretary at the Indonesian embassy.

Mr Suripto said the woman was released only after her daughter brought her passport. Muslianah had earlier presented a diplomatic identification card that the RELA officers did not recognise.

'We wish such incidents do not happen again. It is not acceptable,' he said. -- AFP