KUALA LUMPUR – Police arrested top leaders of Global Ikhwan Services and Business Holdings (GISB Holdings), including its chief executive officer Datuk Nasiruddin Mohd Ali and his wife, during a raid in the wee hours of this morning.
Bernama reported that the Shah Alam magistrates’ court has granted a remand application for all 19 individuals. They will be remanded for seven days starting today.
According to media reports, the operation conducted around dawn this morning at several locations, including a residential premise on Jalan Imbi, saw 12 men and seven women aged between 30 to 65 being arrested by police.
Those arrested reportedly include Nasiruddin, his wife and their two children, as well as the son of the banned sect Al-Arqam’s deceased leader Ashaari Mohammad.
Other detainees include four of Ashaari’s daughters, one of whom is the aforementioned wife.
Following magistrate Wan Noora Nisa Ngadirin decision to grant police’s remand application, all 19 individuals were taken to the lock-up at the Shah Alam police headquarters.
All 19 individuals are being investigated under Section 32(a) of the Child Act 2001 for allowing a child to beg or receive alms, Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 on improper network usage and Section 14 of the Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Anti-Smuggling of Migrants Act 2022 (Atipsom) pertaining to child trafficking.
In a video posted on GISB Holdings’ social media accounts, Nasiruddin previously admitted that the company was involved in “one or two” sodomy cases in the past.
However, he denied claims of GISB Holdings indoctrinating children at its welfare homes with deviant ideology, with the company also dismissing accusations of child labour while distancing itself from welfare homes raided by police.
Meanwhile, earlier today, Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Razarudin Husain confirmed that five men believed to be linked to GISB Holdings were similarly remanded at the Shah Alam magistrates’ court.
Their remand order is also set to end on September 25.
The five men, one of whom is said to be the son of a GISB Holdings leader, are being investigated under Section 12 of the Atipsom Act for human trafficking.
They were earlier arrested at the Bukit Kayu Hitam border heading towards Thailand at about 6pm yesterday, with police seizing two motorhomes bearing the company’s logo with the registration numbers X31337 and X37313.
Police on September 11 raided 20 welfare homes in Selangor and Negri Sembilan as part of a major operation dubbed Ops Global, during which it arrested 171 individuals, including hostel wardens and teaching staff.
Authorities also rescued 402 children aged between one to 17 years old from the GISB Holdings-linked centres.
Razarudin previously said that health screenings of 392 children rescued from the homes found that the victims suffered physical and emotional abuse while also being subjected to labour exploitation.
Four people linked to the company have since been charged with numerous offences, including sexual assault against children and criminal intimidation. – September 19, 2024