The 402 children who were rescued from 20 welfare homes in Selangor and Negri Sembilan were separated from their parents from as young as two years old.
Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Razarudin Husain said the children are allegedly third and fourth-generation GISB Holdings Sdn Bhd members.
“Based on our intelligence some of their parents left their children behind and are now abroad. Some parents have been in Saudi Arabia for six years while others are currently in Turkiye,” he told reporters today (Friday).
He said there were elements of abandonment and negligence based on the discovery which is why police had opened investigations under Section 31 of the Child Act.
“We have screened 172 children comprising 130 boys and 42 girls. From these screenings, we managed to detect that the victims suffered physical and emotional injuries,” he said, adding that this showed that there was a need to conduct further evaluations, especially on the mental health of the victims.
GISB, however, has denied the allegations against it. It said the homes that were raided were not under its management. The company also said it would take legal action against any party who defamed it.
Razarudin said that from the 392 victims currently being screened at the Police Training Centre here, 57 of them were under the age of 4 while 198 others were aged between 5 and 12.
“There are a total of 115 victims between the ages of 13 and 17 as well as 14 victims aged 18 and above. There are eight other victims that we have not managed to clearly identify their ages at the moment,” he said, adding that police were also conducting checks to see if the growth of the victims rescued has been affected as well.
Based on intelligence gathered, police found that some victims were sodomised by their caregivers. Police also received information that they were taught the act of sodomy and forced to sodomise other children in the homes.
The IGP said the investigation is being conducted under Section 14 of the Sexual Offences against Children Act 2007.
Razarudin said the police have so far screened the rescued children and discovered at least 10 of them were autistic, disabled and sick.
“The ones with autism, disabled and sick have been handed over to the Welfare Department for care and further action.
Razarudin said police discovered old and new injuries as well suffered by the children.
“That is why we must conduct further assessments to gauge how the children are emotionally affected,” he said.
Earlier report:
Sept 12, Houses of horror: 171 suspects nabbed in raids on welfare homes