Allegations of child sexual abuse in Malaysian social homes: Police say 13 children were sexually abused

KUALA LUMPUR – A total of 13 of the 402 children rescued after raids on 20 care centers allegedly linked to Global Ikhwan Services and Business Holdings (GISB) are said to have been sexually abused, police said.

Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Razarudin Husain said police initially found that four victims were suspected of sodomy.

“After conducting the initial investigations, we found that nine other people were also suspected of sodomy.

“We are investigating the allegations of sexual assault of the 13 teenage children,” he said at a press conference at the Police Training Centre (Pulapol) in KL on September 13.

The IGP said the investigation is being conducted under Section 14 of the Sexual Offences against Children Act 2017.

“We have arrested four men under Section 14(a) of the Sexual Offences against Children Act 2017, while another man was detained under Section 354 of the Penal Code,” he said.

So far, police have found that at least ten of the rescued children were autistic, disabled or sick.

“Those with autism who are disabled and ill have been handed over to the social welfare office for care and further treatment,” he said.

“We are conducting further assessments on the remaining 392 children – 202 boys and 190 girls – to assess their mental and physical wellbeing.

“The victims examined are 57 children aged four and under, between five and twelve years old (198), between 13 and 17 years old (115) and over 18 years old (14), while the age of eight others could not be determined.

“So far, health examinations have been carried out on 172 children – 130 boys and 42 girls. We have discovered old and new injuries in the children.

“That’s why we need to conduct further tests to assess her mental health.”

Mr Razarudin said that 49 children under the age of five had been granted interim custody orders under section 25(2) of the Child Act 2001.

“They were accommodated in three temporary shelters in Bukit Beruntung, Cheras and Seremban,” he said.

Initial investigations revealed that the children are probably the third or fourth generation of GISB members.

“We believe they have been in 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 Turkey for up to six years.

“We believe that some of the children have not seen their parents for several years.

“We are also investigating child abandonment as a possible crime,” he said.

The question of whether the parents left their children in the centres of their own accord or were allegedly asked to do so by the GISB is still being investigated, said Mr Razarudin.

The IGP said some of the rescued children had identity papers, others did not.

“We are also questioning the detained caregivers. We will not stop until we have found the relevant documents for the children,” he said.

On September 11, police rescued 402 children, including 201 boys and 201 girls, from 20 foster 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 a janitor. THE STAR/ ASIA NEWS NETWORK