KUALA LUMPUR — The parents of some of the 402 children rescued from charity homes in Selangor and Negeri Sembilan where sexual abuse and exploitation were alleged taking place are members of Global Ikhwan Services and Business Holdings Sdn Bhd, the Inspector-General of Police said.
Tan Sri Razarudin Husain told Bernama police was working with the relevant ministries and agencies to investigate the case, follow a major operation to raid 20 charity homes in the two states yesterday.
He said all the victims are undergoing documentation and health examinations.
“We feel it is necessary to take DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) because we know their parents are members (of the company) themselves,” he told Bernama.
Earlier, GISB Holdings denied Razarudin’s previous statements that the company operated welfare homes raided by police yesterday.
The company has also denied any involvement in child labour.
Police have dentified the children at the homes who are suspected of having been sodomised by their caretakers, Razarudin added today.
Police will investigate allegations of sodomy and sexual assault, and will interview the 402 children rescued, he added, noting that the process would take time due to the large number of people involved.
Razarudin said the investigation will also look at the education offered at these charity homes, and whether these centres were licensed or not.
“We know that they (the children) should be in school, but are not, and these centres have their own education (system),” he said, adding that police will be advised on this aspect by the Education Ministry.
All the homes raided have been temporarily closed following the police’s raid yesterday.
Razarudin said police will also summon the top management of the homes, including the executive director of GISB Holdings, for their statements, New Straits Times reported.
The homes involved are in Hulu Selangor, North Klang, Shah Alam, Sepang, Kajang, Petaling Jaya, and Subang Jaya, according to the paper.
A total of 171 individuals who were arrested were remanded for seven days starting today.
According to NST, the police are investigating them under several laws, including the Child Act 2001, the Sexual Offences Against Children Act 2017 , the Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Anti-Smuggling of Migrants Act 2007, and the Penal Code.
Those arrested comprise 66 men and 105 men who worked at the homes as caretakers, teachers and management. They are aged between 17 and 64.
Of the 402 children arrested, 201 are males and 201 female, all aged one to 17 years-old.
Prior to the raid, police received intelligence on the homes, where children were allegedly sodomised and taught to do the same to other children.
Other abuses including touching the children’s bodies as a form of “Islamic treatment”, denying proper medical treatment to those who were sick, punishing children using hot objects, and exploring the children to reap sympathy when collecting donations.
The case and its horrific allegation have drawn the United Nations Children’s Fund’s (Unicef) attention, with its Malaysia representative Robert Gass expressing deep shock at what the 402 children rescued have faced.
“These children have experienced unimaginable horror and will need long-term professional medical and psychosocial support. The damage caused is serious and often results in lifelong consequences,” he said in a statement.
Gass also warned that such welfare homes must be properly regulated and monitored by qualified social workers.
“As long as children in Malaysia reside in unregulated institutional care settings, they will remain at heightened risk of suffering violence and abuse,” he said. — September 12, 2024