KUALA LUMPUR: Bukit Aman has recorded the statement of more than 400 individuals as investigations continued on the 20 raided care homes believed to be linked to Global Ikhwan Services and Business Holdings (GISB).
“We recorded the statements from various people including the complainants, witnesses, victims and suspects,” said Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Razarudin Husain, referring to police having taken the statements of 483 people in the course of its investigations.
“Recording the statements is an essential part in the investigation,” he said when contacted yesterday.
As of Saturday, he said the police had held health screenings for 384 children who were rescued following the raids last Wednesday.
“There are signs of abuse and neglect. We will investigate further,” he said.
Razarudin said the police were now tracking down the parents of the rescued children that have been identified.
“We also collected DNA samples from the rescued children to identify their parents,” he said.
“We want to record their statements to complete the investigation.”
Razarudin said investigations showed that the children were left at the care centres since they were two years old.
“At age two, they were separated from their parents who went abroad to countries such as Saudi Arabia and Turkiye for up to six years.
“We believe some of the children have not seen their parents for several years. We are investigating child abandonment as a possible offence as well,” he said.
Razarudin said that police would verify whether the parents had willingly left their kids with GISB or were ordered to do so.
Last Wednesday, police rescued 402 children – 201 boys and 201 girls – aged between one and 17, from 20 care homes in Selangor and Negri Sembilan in a rescue operation codenamed Ops Global.
This followed allegations that the children were abused, exploited and sexually assaulted
A total of 171 suspects, aged between 17 and 64, were arrested, including a teacher and dorm caretakers.
