Malaysian police said Monday they had saved an additional 187 children and raided locations across the nation that were connected to an Islamic business group that is under investigation for alleged child sexual abuse.
National police chief Razarudin Husain reported that the children and adolescents, including 59 under the age of 5, were rescued from homes associated to Global Ikhwan Services and Business, or GISB Holdings. Among them is one child who was seen being whipped and another who was seen being stomped in online videos.
This brought to 572 the number of children under the age of 18 who have been rescued since the case against GISB broke out earlier this month and, in addition police have also arrested 156 other suspects for investigation.
According to police, some of the children are believed to have been sodomized and instructed to sexually abuse each other, denied medical treatment and burned with scorching metal spoons as a form of punishment. Medical examinations have also determined that at least 13 adolescents were sodomized and 172 children suffered long-term physical and emotional injuries.
The intensified police prosecution of GISB came after the country’s king called for a sweeping investigation on the case that has shaken public opinion.
More specifically, GISB aims to promote an Islamic lifestyle, owns mini-markets, bakeries, restaurants, pharmacies and other businesses in Malaysia and abroad. Its roots lie in the Islamic cult Al Arqam, which was deemed heretical and fully banned by the government in 1994.
Just last week, police arrested members of GISB’s top management, including CEO Nasiruddin Mohamad Ali, two of his wives and two of his children. Family members of the late Ashaari Mohamad, who headed Al Arqam before his death in 2010, were also arrested.
Due to these suspicious activities and as a preventive measure, authorities froze 138 bank accounts linked to GISB with a total value of about 1.9 million ringgit ($452,000) and 14 properties as part of a money laundering investigation. In addition, several people were charged with child sexual assault.
