KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 13 — The police, through preliminary investigations conducted in Negeri Sembilan and Selangor, have found 13 cases involving child victims who are believed to have been sodomised.

Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Razarudin Husain said the police had initially found four victims who were believed to have been sodomised, and now that number has increased by nine.

All victims are said to be teenagers.

"All these cases are being investigated under Section 14 of the Sexual Offences Against Children Act 2017.

"During the September 2 raid, we received reports in Negeri Sembilan and Selangor after which we found four victims were sodomised.

"Through further investigations, during a September 11 raid, we identified nine more victims.

"The cases will be investigated under one investigation paper,” Razarudin told a press conference here at the Police Training Centre (Pulapol).

As for an update on an earlier arrest made in Port Dickson as part of the police’s ongoing ‘Ops Global’, Razarudin said six suspects — one woman and five men — were charged yesterday.

"The woman is charged under Section 31(1)(a) of the Child Act 2001, four of the five men are charged under Section 14 of the Sexual Offences Against Children Act 2017, while one more has been charged under Section 354 of the Penal Code,” he added.

In relation to the 402 children rescued from welfare homes linked to Global Ikhwan Group (GISBH), Razarudin said 392 children were still undergoing medical health checks.

He said those who are disabled, or autistic have been placed in the care of the Welfare Department.

"Of the remaining number, 202 are male and 190 female,” he said.

He added that health checks will be a priority for these child victims, saying that some do not have identification documents on them.

"We will continue with the screening until we are able to locate their identification papers.

However, this will take some time as some of these children have not met their parents for a long period of time.

"From our screening, we found that some have been left at these centres while their parents are in Saudi Arabia or Turkey,” Razarudin said, adding that some children have been separated from their parents since the age of two.

This week, children were rescued from 20 welfare homes in Selangor and Negeri Sembilan, amid allegations that they were forced to sexually assault each other, including sodomy.

Razarudin reportedly said that some children are as young as five and were found to have sustained burns inflicted on them by hot objects.

Four investigation papers have been opened, with one already progressing under the Child Act 2001.

Additional investigations are being carried out under the Sexual Offences Act, Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Anti-Smuggling of Migrants Act 2007 and Section 354 of the Penal Code.