Malaysian police detain CEO and other leaders of Islamic group as probe into child sex abuse widens

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — Malaysian police on Thursday detained the CEO and other top leaders of an Islamic business group that is under investigation after hundreds of children believed to be sexually abused were rescued this month from welfare homes linked to the group.

National police chief Razarudin Husain said 12 men and seven women were detained following a police raid on a condominium in Kuala Lumpur. They ranged in age from 25 to 65.

Nasiruddin Mohamad Ali, CEO of Global Ikhwan Services and Business, and several members of GISB’s advisory board were among those detained, Razarudin told The Associated Press. Others arrested on the list seen by AP included two of Nasiruddin’s four wives and two of his children.

Some family members of the late Ashaari Mohamad, who headed the Islamic sect Al Arqam, which was deemed heretical and banned by the government in 1994, were also named on the list. Global Ikhwan was founded by Ashaari and flourished after his death in 2010.

Nasirudin earlier said in a video there may be cases of sodomy in GISB homes but denied any wrongdoing.

The arrests came after police rescued 402 children from 20 welfare homes linked to GISB on Sept. 11. Dozens of suspects were arrested in the case, which outraged the nation and sparked calls for better child protection and monitoring of childcare centers.

Razarudin has said some of the children, aged from 1 to 17, were believed sodomized by their guardians and taught to sexually abuse each other. He said they were denied medical treatment and burned with hot metal spoons as punishment for being disobedient. Medical screening has so far showed that at least 13 teens were sodomized and 172 children suffered long-term physical and emotional injuries, Razarudin said.

The children, whose parents are Global Ikhwan employees, were placed in the homes since they were infants and believed to be indoctrinated from a young age to be loyal to the group, police have said. The children were also believed to have been exploited to collect public donations.

Authorities have frozen 96 bank accounts linked to GISB, with a value of 581,000 ringgit ($137,000), as part of the investigation into sexual abuse, child neglect, human trafficking and money laundering.

GISB, which aims to promote an Islamic way of life, owns mini-markets, bakeries, restaurants, pharmacies, properties and other businesses abroad. It employs some 5,000 people. Global Ikhwan gained attention in 2011 when it formed an “Obedient Wives Club” that sparked controversy by teaching women to be “good sex workers” to keep their husbands from straying.

Apart from the criminal investigations, Islamic authorities are also checking on other homes and religious schools under GISB amid concerns it is promoting deviant teachings linked to Al Arqam.

On Thursday, three young men were charged with sexually assaulting young children in a religious school in southern Negeri Sembilan state. Razirudin said the trio were linked to GISB but gave no further details. Earlier this week, a businessman linked to GISB was charged with criminal intimidation for threatening a former GISB staff to withdraw a complaint to police.