KUALA LUMPUR — Health screenings of the children rescued from care homes said to be linked to Global Ikhwan Services and Business (GISB) Holdings have revealed signs of neglect and abuse, Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Razarudin Husain said.
The Star reported him saying that authorities have completed health screenings for 384 children, out of the 402 rescued during raids on 20 homes in Selangor and Negeri Sembilan on September 11.
The alleged sodomy of 13 children from the homes is also still under investigation, he added.
Police have also recorded statements from 483 people over alleged sexual and physical abuse of children in the homes, he added.
Those interviewed included complainants, witnesses, suspects and the alleged victims.
Razarudin also told The Star police are trying to locate parents who have been identified and who left their children in the care of the homes.
The parents’ statements are needed to complete the investigation, he said.
“We also collected DNA samples from the rescued children to help identify their parents,” he was quoted as saying.
Meanwhile, Bernama reported Razarudin saying police will also investigate the claims of GISB Holdings’ CEO Datuk Nasiruddin Mohd Ali that there were “one or two isolated cases of sodomy” in homes, while denying allegations that the victims were taught to sodomise others.
In a video on the company’s Facebook, Nasiruddin also said police should have “discussed the matter” with GISB Holdings instead of taking the children away.
Following the raids last Wednesday under an operation codenamed Op Global, police have arrested 171 suspects, aged between 17 and 64, who are currently in remand.
Razarudin yesterday said the operation was executed after six months of surveillance using information from a group that had been monitoring GISB Holdings, and from past police reports lodged by the company’s members who later retracted them.
The top cop was also reported saying yesterday that another 39 care homes believed to be linked to GISB Holdings are under police observation. — September 15, 2024