Malaysian officials announced Wednesday that they had rescued hundreds of children from care facilities where they were allegedly physically and sexually mistreated, as well as detained dozens of adults in large-scale operations.
According to police inspector-general Razarudin Husain, 402 children ages one to 17 were rescued during raids on several charity houses in Selangor and Negri Sembilan on Wednesday.
The morning raids involved almost 1,000 personnel from police and other agencies.
That led to some 170 arrests, including Islamic religious teachers and caretakers at the welfare homes, he added.
Initial investigations revealed that the victims were sexually abused by their caretakers and forced to abuse other children, Razarudin told a news conference in Pahang state.
“Victims who were ill were not allowed to seek treatment at clinics until their condition become critical,” he said, adding that some as young as five were also burnt with hot spoons.
He said the children would be temporarily housed at a police training centre in the capitol Kuala Lumpur and would undergo health checks.
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Source: NEWS18
