KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia Associated Press —Malaysian authorities on Wednesday rescued 402 children and arrested 171 suspects after raiding 20 welfare homes linked to an Islamic business group, in which children were exploited and sexually abused, the national police chief said.
Police believed that Global Ikhwan exploited the children and used religious sentiments to collect donations, he said.
Investigations showed that the children at the welfare homes belonged to members of the Global Ikhwan group, placed by their parents at the homes since they were infants, he said.
The group recently also came under the radar of Islamic authorities amid claims that it was still involved with the deviant teachings of the Al-Arqam sect.
Global Ikhwan, in a statement Wednesday, denied allegations that it exploited children and said that it would cooperate with authorities.
Persons:
Police Razarudin Husain, —, Razarudin, ”, Ashaari Mohamad, Al Arqam, Ashaari
Organizations:
Malaysia Associated Press, Malaysian, Wednesday, Police, Global Ikhwan Services, Business Holdings, Investigations, Global
Locations:
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, Selangor, Negeri Sembilan, London, Paris, Australia, Dubai