PONTIAN: A 14-year-old student was allegedly gang-raped by six men, believed to be army personnel, at the Pontian Besar beach here on Tuesday.
The suspects, who were believed to have been high on drugs, had also stripped her of her belongings, including her cell phone.
In the 11am incident, the men, aged between 24 and 29, allegedly forced the girl to perform oral sex on them before they took turns to rape her.
After committing the rape, they left the girl and reported back to their camp at the Pulau Pisang jetty here.
The victim made her way home and related the incident to her parents.
With the help of a friend, the family lodged a police report, and the girl was taken to Pontian Hospital.
At the hospital, DNA samples were taken to facilitate investigation.
It was learnt that the victim has been admitted for observation.
Sources said following the police report, a police party accompanied by an army major, went to the Pulau Pisang jetty camp and picked up the suspects.
One of the six suspects in custody had in his possession, a cell phone similar to the one stolen from the girl. The phone was found hidden underneath some wooden planks in the camp.
The remaining suspects were arrested after the victim had picked them out from a mugshot profile book.
Three of the six suspects tested positive for drugs, believed to be methamphetamine.
Johor Criminal Investigation Department chief Datuk Hasnan Hassan confirmed six men had been arrested to facilitate investigations under Section 375 for rape and Section 385 for extortion. He declined to elaborate, saying that it could hamper investigations.
It was learnt that the incident sparked an uproar among Pontian Besar villagers, who claimed that the suspects were attached to the army's special investigation department.
Meanwhile, Azlan Bohari of the Pontian magistrate's court granted police a 10-day remand order yesterday to keep the suspects in custody until June 22 to facilitate investigations.