Malaysian authorities rescued more than 400 children and teenagers on Wednesday suspected of being sexually abused at charity homes run by a prominent Islamic business organisation with links to a banned religious sect, the top police official said.
Police arrested 171 adults, including 'ustazs' or Islamic religious teachers, during coordinated raids on 20 premises across two Malaysian states, Inspector-General of Police Razarudin Husain said.
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Those rescued included 201 boys and 201 girls, aged between one and 17, after reports were filed this month that alleged neglect, abuse, sexual harassment and molestation, Razarudin told a press conference. He did not say who wrote the reports.
The homes were all run by Global Ikhwan Services and Business (GISB), Razarudin said.
Malaysian authorities rescued more than 400 children and teenagers suspected of being sexually abused. (Steph Chambers/Getty Images)
GISB, a Malaysian firm involved in businesses ranging from supermarkets to laundromats, operates in multiple countries, including Indonesia, Singapore, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, France, Australia and Thailand, according to its website.
GISB did not immediately respond to a request from Reuters for comment on the sexual abuse allegations.
In a statement, GISB denied separate social media reports that it had exploited and used children as workers, saying the company would not engage in any illegal activity and that it would cooperate with authorities to resolve the issue.
Razarudin said preliminary police investigations had found that the rescued minors were children of Malaysian GISB employees, who were sent to the homes shortly after they were born, before being subjected to multiple forms of abuse.
The victims were allegedly sodomised by adult guardians and later taught to sodomise other children at the homes, he said.
GISB has been linked to the now-defunct Malaysia-based Al-Arqam religious sect, which was banned by the government in 1994. GISB has acknowledged the link but now describes itself as an Islamic conglomerate based on Muslim practices.
The firm previously made headlines for its controversial views on marriage, including encouraging polygamy among Muslims and establishing the Obedient Wives' Club, a group that had called on women to submit to their husbands "like prostitutes".
Razarudin said some children at the homes who protested or misbehaved had hot spoons pressed on their arms, creating injuries, while others were molested under the pretext of carrying out medical treatment according to Islamic teachings.
"The children and religious sentiments were also used to gain public sympathy and raise funds for the organisation," he said, referring to GISB.
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"What we have seen is the indoctrination of children using religious tools in a harmful way."
The children will be sent for health screening and documentation, Razarudin said, adding that the case was being investigated under laws covering sexual offences against children and human trafficking.