In 20 security facilities, Indonesian police have rescued 402 children and teenagers they believe were sexually and physically abused.
Warning: This story contains depictions of sexual and physical crime.
The patients, aged between one to 17, were said to have endured several forms of abuse, with some supposedly forced to perform sexual functions on other kids, said Police Inspector-General Razarudin Husain at a press conference.
Authorities have arrested 171 defendants, including spiritual teachers and caregivers.
The care homes are reportedly connected to a well-known Muslim conglomerate, which has denied any wrongdoing, according to the allegations.
Police conducted a Wednesday raid on security homes in the states of Selangor and Negeri Sembilan in response to earlier reports of baby exploitation, molest, and physical abuse at a different service in Negeri Sembilan state.
At a press event on Wednesday, Insp Razarudin told reporters that some of the suspects- aged between 17 to 64- had reportedly contact the children, claiming it was part of a spiritual treatment. Apparently, some kids were also taught at home to do similar physical acts on various kids.
Children were likewise “punished using heated metal objects,” he continued, and those who were poor were never allowed to seek medical care until their condition became critical.
According to Insp. Razarudin, the children will experience wellness checks while temporarily residing at a police station in Kuala Lumpur.
According to state media company Bernama, first investigations revealed that some children were put by their parents there so they could receive religious education.
The Islamic Global Ikhwan Group ( GISB ) business group is the subject of a police investigation involving child exploitation. Since then, the authorities have established ties between the two incidents.
Preliminary investigations have revealed that GISB’s strategy is to set up security properties to collect funds, according to Deputy Inspector-General of Police Ayob Khan Mydin Pitchay, according to a report from the New Straits Times.
In a statement posted to Facebook on Wednesday, the organization denied the claims.
The business” will never deal with any action that goes against the law, especially regarding the oppression of kids as workers,” it said.
GISB has hundreds of businesses across 20 countries, operating across industries from kindness, to food, to learning.
The Human Rights Commission of Malaysia, or Suhakam, has called for stricter rules in security properties.
” The problem is that these sites are not appropriately regulated or controlled”, Suhakam’s children’s director Farah Nini Dusuki told online information site Free Malaysia Now.
” We have a major problem with tracking and care, which is why we need the area to be more alert”, she said.