SHAH ALAM — Remand for nine people, including seven women linked to Global Ikhwan Services and Business (GISB) Holdings, has been extended by one and two days from today.
Magistrate M Mageshwary allowed the extension of remand on the individuals, aged between 18 and 55, whose initial seven-day remand which began on September 28, ended today, Bernama reports.
Lawyer Boestamam Ahmad who represented all the nine individuals, said the one-day remand extension was for the women who are believed to include the four wives of a senior GISB leader.
The two-day extension was for the men who are being investigated under the Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Anti-Smuggling of Migrants Act 2007.
All nine were arrested in Rawang on September 27, a little over two weeks after police’s September 11 raids on 20 charity homes in Selangor and Negeri Sembilan linked to GISB suspected of exploiting children and religion.
As of today, eight people have been charged in courts in three states. Three people have been charged with child abuse, four with physical sexual assault of children, and one for criminal intimidation against a woman who lodged a police report concerning GISB.
To date, 572 children and teenagers have been rescued in police raids on GISB welfare homes.
On their welfare, Women, Family and Community Development Minister Datuk Seri Nancy Shukri was reported saying in Johor Bahru today that a proposal paper will be tabled to the cabinet next week.
She said the paper was being updated as additional information had surfaced on the children’s identification.
Nancy said previously her ministry would present a paper to the cabinet on short, medium and long term plans for the children, including their education, and their welfare.
Police have said that some of the children rescued from the homes did not know their parents, nor had their parents come forward to acknowledge them, as there were cases where children were born to men with more than one wife and placed at GISB homes while the parents worked abroad for the company. – October 4, 2024