KUALA LUMPUR: Three brothers, a man and two boys, were detained in connection with the alleged abuse of four tahfiz students.
Kuala Lumpur police chief Comm Datuk Rusdi Mohd Isa said the individuals aged 20, 15 and 13, were detained on Friday (Oct 11).
"The oldest suspect was remanded for a day while the other two were not as they are underage.
"All three suspects were eventually released on police bail at 7pm on Saturday (Oct 12) after their statements were recorded," he said when contacted on Sunday (Oct 13).
Comm Rusdi said investigations are still being conducted, including getting a statement from the doctor who examined the victims.
"Give police the space to investigate this matter thoroughly," he said.
It was reported that the police discovered several wounds on the bodies of the four missing tahfiz students, who were found.
Comm Rusdi had said the students, aged 13 and 14, were found in Bangi and brought to the hospital for checkups after they were suspected of being abused and sexually assaulted.
"We brought them to the hospital for medical checks with the consent of their respective parents, according to the procedure.
"There were signs of swelling and other wounds, believed to have occurred when they were at the tahfiz school. We are still investigating the matter," he said.
Two investigation papers have been opened under Section 31 1(a) of the Child Act 2001 and Section 14b of the Sexual Offences Against Children Act 2017, he said.
"The boys claimed that they were abused and sexually assaulted. However, we are investigating the allegations further.
"They also claimed to have run away from the school as they could no longer stand the conditions there. They have been there less than a year," he said.
Comm Rusdi said the police are not ruling out the possibility that the boys were also bullied based on the statements that they gave.
"We have already recorded the statement of the school representative," he said.
It was reported that the four tahfiz students who were reported missing, have been found safe on Thursday night (Oct 10).
Wangsa Maju OCPD Asst Comm Mohd Lazim Ismail said the students were discovered by a civilian at about 11.58pm on Thursday.
