Malaysian police rescue over 400 children from alleged sex abuse linked to banned sect
Police said caretakers used religious rituals to justify their abuse while victims in need of medical attention were denied care
The alleged victims – 201 boys and 201 girls aged between one and 17 years old – were taken to the Police Training Academy for health screenings, Inspector General of Police Razarudin Husain told a press conference in Kuantan, Pahang.
More than 170 adults charged with taking care of the children – including both men and women and imams and dorm wardens – were arrested as part of the investigation, the country’s top cop added.
“The caretakers were found to have touched the bodies of their victims, supposedly as part of a medical ritual,” Razarudin said. “The practice of indoctrinating the children using religious elements is appalling.”
He also said that victims who were sick were denied medical attention until their conditions became critical.
The raids followed a week-long investigation into Global Ikhwan Services & Business Holdings (GISBH), an Islamic business group that operated the shelters. GISBH members are known to have been part of the Al-Arqam sect that was declared deviant by Malaysian religious authorities in 1994.