KUALA LUMPUR: Police have confirmed that there are signs of injury on four students from a tahfiz centre in Datuk Keramat who were reported missing last Monday.
Examinations conducted at Kuala Lumpur Hospital (HKL) on Thursday revealed injuries on the teenagers, aged between 13 and 14.
Kuala Lumpur police chief Datuk Rusdi Mohd Isa said the students were found in Bangi and taken to HKL for examination with their families' consent.
According to him, initial examinations found injuries that are believed to have occurred while they were at the tahfiz centre.
"From early statements, they claimed to have run away due to being unable to endure the conditions at the tahfiz centre and they did not deny being bullied.
"They also alleged they were sexually abused after we found bruises on their bodies, and further investigations are underway to gather more evidence," he said to reporters after the National Sports Day (HSN) event for the Kuala Lumpur contingent today.
"We have also recorded statements from the management of the tahfiz centre to assist in this investigation. Investigations also revealed that they had been studying there for less than a year.
"An investigation paper has been opened under Section 31 (1) of the Child Act 2001 and Section 14 (b) of the Sexual Offences Against Children Act 2017," he said.
Earlier, it was reported that four students from the centre who went missing since Monday, had been found.
Wangsa Maju police chief Assistant Commissioner Mohamad Lazim Ismail had said the four were discovered by the public at 11.58pm, walking around the Kampung Bangi area in Kajang, Selangor.