Raids by Malaysian police on welfare homes in Selangor and Negri Sembilan resulted in the rescue of 402 children who allegedly had been abused, some sexually.
Malaysian Inspector-General of Police Razarudin Husain announced in a press conference at the Pahang police headquarters on Wednesday (Sep 11) that those rescued were aged between one and 17, comprising 201 boys and 201 girls.
The New Straits Times (NST) reported that the operation – codenamed Op Global – was carried out at 18 welfare homes in Selangor and two in Negri Sembilan between 6am and 11am.
Razarudin said that “171 individuals aged between 17 and 64, including caretakers, ustaz (religious teachers) and the chairmen of the premises” were arrested.
The rescued children will undergo health screening, he added.
“Initial investigations revealed the victims were not only sodomised by the caretakers, but also taught to perform a similar act on the other children at the home,” NST reported Razarudin as saying.
“They were punished using heated metal objects when the victims commit mistakes and the suspects touched the victim’s body parts by claiming it was part of the religious medical treatment,” he added.
The Star reported that some users on a community social media page had claimed to see enforcement officers escorting children out of the welfare homes during the raids.
