THE interviewing process involving the 402 rescued children from 18 care homes linked to Global Ikhwan Services and Business Holdings (GISB) is still in its early stages.
According to The Star, Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Razarudin Husain said the process would likely take at least two weeks.
"In the meantime, the children will be placed at the Police Training Centre (Pulapol) where the interviews and documentation processes can be conducted," he said.
While investigators will probe allegations of sexual assaults and sodomy, Razarudin stated that special care would be taken during the interviews of the supposedly exploited children.
"Additionally, we will check whether the children are attending school, and if they are not, then it is an offence.
"If the schools or care centres they are attending are unlicensed, that too is an offence," he said.
He added that the police would work with the Welfare Department to provide counselling and emotional support for the children.
"Again, it is still in the early stages, so we have to take it step by step, and since it involves children, we must exercise extra care," he said.
The children were allegedly sodomised and forced to do the same to others at the care homes in Selangor and Negri Sembilan, which were raided by police.
The IGP had said this was only the tip of the iceberg in terms of the horrific abuses the children were allegedly subjected to at the homes linked to GISB.
It was reported yesterday that the police had rescued 402 minors, some of whom were allegedly exploited and abused, including sexually, in a major operation across two states codenamed Op Global.
A total of 201 boys and 201 girls were rescued from 18 charity homes in Selangor and two in Negri Sembilan.
The victims were all locals and were rescued between 6am and 11am.
Razarudin stated that a total of 171 individuals aged between 17 and 64 years old, including caretakers, ustaz (religious teachers), and the chairpersons of the premises, were arrested during the simultaneous raids at the charity homes in both states. – September 12, 2024.
