Malaysian police rescue 400 minors suspected of being sexually abused at Islamic charity homes
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Malaysian police rescue 400 minors suspected of being sexually abused at Islamic charity homes
KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - 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.
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.
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.
