KUALA LUMPUR: A total of 13 children of the 402 rescued following raids on 20 care centres allegedly linked to Global Ikhwan Services and Business Holdings (GISB) are believed to have been sexually assaulted, say the police.
Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Razarudin Husain said police had initially discovered that four victims were believed to have been sodomised.
“After initial screenings were conducted, we discovered that nine others were also suspected to have been sodomised.
“We are investigating allegations of sexual assault on the 13 children, who are in their teens,” he told a press conference at the Police Training Centre (Pulapol) here yesterday.
The IGP said the investigation is being conducted under Section 14 of the Sexual Offences against Children Act 2017.
“We detained four men under Section 14(a) of the Sexual Offences against Children Act 2017, while another man was held under Section 354 of the Penal Code,” he said.
So far, the police discovered that at least 10 of the rescued children were autistic, disabled and sick.
“Those with autism, who are disabled and sick, have been handed over to the Welfare Department for care and further action,” he said.
“We are conducting further checks on the remaining 392 children – 202 boys and 190 girls – to assess their mental and physical well-being.
“The victims being screened are 57 children aged four years and below, those aged five to 12 (198), between the ages of 13 and 17 (115), and 18 and above (14), while the ages for eight others could not be determined.
“So far, health screenings on 172 children – 130 boys and 42 girls – have been completed. We discovered old and new injuries suffered by the children.
“That is why we must conduct further assessments to gauge their mental health.”
Razarudin said an interim custody order had been imposed on 49 children below the age of five years under Section 25(2) of the Child Act 2001.
“They have been placed at three shelters in Bukit Beruntung, Cheras and Seremban,” he said.
Initial investigations revealed that the children are believed to be the third or fourth generation of GISB members.
“We believe they had been left at the centres since they were two years old. At that age, they were separated from their parents, who travelled to countries such as Saudi Arabia and Turkiye, for up to six years.
“We believe some of the children have not seen their parents for several years.
“We are also investigating child abandonment as a possible offence,” he said.
On whether the parents acted on their accord in leaving their kids at the centres or were allegedly ordered to do so by GISB, Razarudin said it is still under investigation.
The IGP said some of the rescued children had identification documents while others did not.
“We are also interviewing the detained caretakers. We won’t stop until we find the relevant documents of the children,” he said.
On Sept 11, police rescued 402 children, comprising 201 boys and 201 girls, from the 20 care homes in Selangor and Negri Sembilan in a rescue operation codenamed Ops Global.
A total of 171 suspects, aged between 17 and 64, were arrested, including a teacher and dorm caretakers.
