Malaysian police rescue 402 children after allegations of sexual abuse in Islamic social homes

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia – Malaysian authorities rescued 402 children and arrested 171 suspects on Wednesday after raiding 20 welfare homes linked to an Islamic trafficking group that exploited and sexually abused children, the national police chief said.

Inspector General of Police Razarudin Husain said the raids were carried out following investigations into allegations of child abandonment, deviant education and sexual harassment at the homes run by Global Ikhwan Services and Business Holdings.

He said 201 boys and 201 girls aged between 1 and 17 were rescued from 18 houses in the central state of Selangor and two in the southern state of Negeri Sembilan. The 171 suspects – 66 men and 105 women – included religious teachers and caregivers, he said.

Children in the facilities are not only sexually abused by their caregivers, but are also forced to do the same to each other, Razarudin said in a televised press conference.

“Sick people were not allowed to seek medical attention until their condition became critical,” he said. Some young children also burned themselves with a hot spoon when they made mistakes, and caregivers touched the children's bodies as if they were conducting medical examinations, he said.

Police are convinced that Global Ikhwan is exploiting children and abusing religious sentiments to raise funds, he said.

Investigations have revealed that the children in the social homes belong to members of the Global Ikhwan group and have been placed in the homes by their parents since childhood, he said. The children are being medically examined as part of the ongoing investigations, he added.

According to the organization's website, Global Ikhwan was founded by Ashaari Mohamad, the leader of the Islamic sect Al Arqam, which was declared heretical and banned by the government in 1994. The group is said to have undergone a number of name changes since Ashaari's death in 2010.

Recently, the group has also come under the scrutiny of Islamic authorities because it was accused of continuing to be involved in the deviant teachings of the Al-Arqam sect.

Global Ikhwan denied allegations of child exploitation in a statement on Wednesday and said it would cooperate with authorities. However, the allegations of sexual abuse against them were not mentioned.

“The company will not compromise on activities that violate the law, especially the exploitation of child labor,” the statement said.

Global Ikhwan's website says the company operates in a variety of business sectors, including food and beverage, media, medical, travel and real estate. The company employs more than 5,000 people and has offices in 20 countries, including a restaurant chain in London, Paris, Australia and Dubai.