KUALA LUMPUR (AP) – Malaysian police said on Monday they have rescued 187 more children and raided locations nationwide linked to an Islamic business group that is being investigated for alleged sexual assault of children.
National police chief Razarudin Husain said the children and young people, including 59 under age five, were rescued from welfare homes linked to Global Ikhwan Services and Business, or GISB Holdings. They included a boy who was seen being caned and another child who was seen being stepped on in online videos, he said.
That brought the number of children under age 18 who have been rescued to 572 since the case against GISB erupted earlier this month, he said,
Police also arrested 156 more suspects for investigation, he said.
Police say some children are believed to have been sodomised and taught to sexually abuse each other, denied medical treatment and burned with hot metal spoons as punishment.
Medical screening so far has determined that at least 13 teens were sodomised and 172 children suffered long-term physical and emotional injuries. The victims are mostly children of GISB employees, placed in the homes since they were infants and believed to be indoctrinated from a young age to be loyal to the group, police said.
The increased police action against GISB came after the country’s king called for a swift police investigation and action in the case, which has shocked and enraged the nation.
GISB, which aims to promote an Islamic way of life, owns mini-markets, bakeries, restaurants, pharmacies and other businesses in Malaysia and abroad. It has its roots in the Al Arqam Islamic sect, which was deemed heretical and banned by the government in 1994.
Last week, police detained members of GISB’s top management, including Chief Executive Officer Nasiruddin Mohamad Ali, two of his wives and two of his children.
Some family members of the late Ashaari Mohamad, who headed Al Arqam before his death in 2010, were also arrested.
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