A 36-year-old Dutch woman born in the Dominican Republic felt humiliated and “treated like a dog” when the police arrested her soon after she landed in Malta and took her to hospital to be internally searched for drugs.

Jennifer Koster said she was used to her luggage being searched for drugs whenever she came to Malta to visit her Maltese partner.

But this time police crossed the line – she had to endure a vaginal examination and was given a laxative and asked to search her own excrement.

“I cried. Not because I did wrong. But because of the way I was treated. I felt humiliated. I was brought up in Holland where you have rights.

I cried. Not because I did wrong. But because of the way I was treated

“But there is a problem here. They see you are born in the Dominican Republic and coming in from Holland and they think you bring drugs to Malta,” Ms Koster told Times of Malta outside the law courts yesterday.

She went there to meet lawyers Franco Debono, Marion Camilleri and Angie Muscat to discuss filing a constitutional case for having been made to suffer inhuman and degrading treatment.

A police spokesman said they could not divulge details of particular investigations or individuals. The spokesman said that, when police had reasonable suspicion someone was involved in drug trafficking, investigations could include searches and referrals to hospital for medical investigations.

“Such procedures are conducted according to our police ethics,” the spokesman said, adding that police obtained a magistrate’s warrant unless they had the suspect’s consent.

Ms Koster, a beautician who has Dutch citizenship, explained that for the past three years she had been coming to Malta regularly to visit her partner, Charlie Zammit, a taxi driver whom she met when she came to Malta on holiday.

Practically each time she came to Malta she was stopped by Customs officials, who searched her luggage and made a copy of her passport. On one occasion she was also taken into a room and strip-searched.

“This time they went too far,” she said adding that what happened to her a week ago made her determined to speak up to bring about change.

She landed on February 18 aboard a Ryanair flight from Germany at about 6.30pm. This time she passed through customs without any trouble and, as usual, her partner picked her up. The couple decided to stop and get Chinese takeaway food from Mrieħel before heading to Mr Zammit’s Floriana home. When they were in Mrieħel they were stopped by three cars.

“They came out and shouted: ‘Police, police.’ It was like a movie. I cooperated with them as I had nothing to hide,” she said.

The two were handcuffed.

She was taken to Mater Dei Hospital and her partner was taken, in another car, to his home, which was thoroughly searched.

When she arrived in hospital her handcuffs were removed. A doctor, who carried out a chest X-ray in the presence of two policewomen, said he saw “a shadow”.

“I was confused. How could he see a shadow if I know there was nothing,” she said. This was followed by a vaginal examination and a blood test.

She was then told she had to spend the night there and was given a laxative. “The two female officers stayed with me everywhere I moved,” she said adding they even accompanied her to the toilet and watched her do her business, which they inspected.

“I told them: ‘I feel like a dog here. Where are the human rights? I won’t cooperate anymore. I want a lawyer.’ I asked for Franco Debono and [Emmanuel] Mallia of Giannella [de Marco],” she said. She was told it was too late to call in a lawyer.

Ms Koster said she was never charged or found guilty of any crime in the past. She only knew about the lawyers through the news.

“I watch television and I inform myself. I read the Times of Malta every day. I am with a Maltese so I like to inform myself,” she said. In the morning she was given another laxative.

“Then came the nice thing,” she said sarcastically, shaking her head at the recollection. She was given a yellow plastic bag to use instead of a glove and told to inspect her own excrement, she said. “This is not human rights. I hope the system will change. Human rights are there to be respected no matter if you’re white or black,” she said.