Li Jun Jie, a Chinese national, made headlines in Malaysia last December after she was erroneously detained for eight days. The Malaysian police later conceded ‘mistake’, and the victim accepted the apology with good grace.

Li’s wrongful detention reverberated on cyberspace, while some commentaries in Malaysia’s Chinese media openly criticised the Malaysian police for singling out Chinese nationals.

One should rightfully feel indignant at Li’s misfortune, but should we then draw the hasty conclusion that Malaysian law enforcement officers set their sights on the Chinese from China? I think not.