KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 17 — Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Razarudin Husain has confirmed there were physical and emotional crimes inflicted on some of the 392 children who were rescued from 20 welfare homes linked to Global Ikhwan Services and Business Holdings (GISB).

From the ongoing screening process, he said other crimes include child grooming, child labour, negligence, and children were found to be malnutrition.

"From the screening that was conducted, we found that there were physical crimes involved such as beating, caned, applied severe pressure (ditekan) and burnt (with hot object).

"There were also emotional crimes which will need further health evaluation on the victim’s emotional health,” Razarudin told a press conference here at the Police Training Centre (Pulapol).

In an update on the child victims, Razarudin said 149 of the children aged between one and 10 have been placed under the Welfare Department for temporary care. Under Section 25(2) of the Child Act 2001, they were transferred to four protection shelters.

As for the remaining 243 children, he said they are still placed at Pulapol and will be transferred to temporary childcare centres in stages.

Razarudin also revealed that the police are still in the midst of identifying the parents of the children victims.

"We are still identifying some of the children’s parents, as not all of the parents have come forward to identify their child.

"We are unsure of the reasons, it could be that some parents do not even know that their child is among these children that we rescued since GISB claimed that all these children are orphans, or it could be that the parents’ marriage we previously not registered as customary marriage because there were children whom we found have the name ‘bin Abdullah’,” he said.

The "bin Abdullah” patronym is usually given to a Muslim child who was born illegitimate or out of wedlock.

When asked about the welfare homes’ structure, Razarudin said children in each home are cared for by children aged 16 or 17 — with the caregivers known as "abang or kakak besar” (big brother or sister).

These homes were placed under specific zones, with each zone with around seven homes was led by a manager.

The children in each home were then moved between those homes, but Razarudin said the reason behind this is still under investigation.

"Out of the 20 welfare homes, only two are registered under the Welfare Department,” he said, admitting that this is a violation of the law.

On September 11, Bukit Aman’s Criminal Investigation Department raided the welfare homes in Selangor and Negeri Sembilan, rescuing 402 children aged between one and 17.

Razarudin had reportedly said the investigation is currently focused on allegations of child exploitation involving charity homes believed to be owned by GISB.