SEPT 13 KUALA LUMPUR: The 402 children who were rescued from 20 welfare homes in Selangor and Negri Sembilan were separated from their parents from as young as two years old.
Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Razarudin Husain said the children are allegedly third and fourth-generation GISB Holdings Sdn Bhd members.
"Based on our intelligence some of their parents left their children behind and are now abroad. Some parents have been in Saudi Arabia for six years while others are currently in Turkiye," he told reporters today (Friday).
He said there were elements of abandonment and negligence based on the discovery which is why police had opened investigations under Section 31 of the Child Act.
"We have screened 172 children comprising 130 boys and 42 girls. From these screenings, we managed to detect that the victims suffered physical and emotional injuries," he said, adding that this showed that there was a need to conduct further evaluations, especially on the mental health of the victims.
GISB, however, has denied the allegations against it. It said the homes that were raided were not under its management. The company also said it would take legal action against any party who defamed it.
Razarudin said that from the 392 victims currently being screened at the Police Training Centre here, 57 of them were under the age of 4 while 198 others were aged between 5 and 12.
"There are a total of 115 victims between the ages of 13 and 17 as well as 14 victims aged 18 and above. There are eight other victims that we have not managed to clearly identify their ages at the moment," he said, adding that police were also conducting checks to see if the growth of the victims rescued has been affected as well.
Razarudin rubbished claims that the children in police custody were not allowed to perform their prayers.
"Due to security factors, these victims were allowed to take turns to pray. There is no truth to the claims that they were not allowed to pray here," he said about a video being circulated on social media claiming that the victims in police custody were not allowed to pray
It was reported that police had raided 20 welfare homes linked to the company early on Wednesday morning. Razarudin had confirmed that the homes raided were linked to the Global Ikhwan Group.
It was reported that police investigations into some of the welfare homes raided earlier have led to claims of sodomy and abuse against the children.
Based on intelligence gathered, police found that some victims were sodomised by their caregivers. Police also received information that they were taught the act of sodomy and forced to sodomise other children in the homes.
On Sept 11, police rescued 402 children from 20 homes connected to GISB during a raid, leading to 171 arrests.
GISB Holdings Sdn Bhd has since denied the allegations and threatened legal action against those who defame the company.