KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 17 — Expressing serious concern, His Majesty Sultan Ibrahim, King of Malaysia, has directed the Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM) to conduct an immediate and comprehensive investigation into the criminal and child abuse issues in the charity homes linked to Global Ikhwan Service and Business Holding (GISBH).

“I want a thorough investigation conducted and immediate action taken,” the Royal Press Office quoted the King as saying in a Facebook post today.

Sultan Ibrahim said he was seriously concerned over news reports about these charity homes and emphasised that matters concerning Islamic faith should always be safeguarded and not taken lightly.

He also advised all parties to avoid making extreme statements or opinions regarding religious issues due to their sensitive nature, and to handle them with care.

On September 11, police raided welfare homes across Negeri Sembilan and Selangor for allegedly exploiting 402 children regarding alleged child abandonment, sexual assault, and harassment at the homes.

Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Tan Sri Razarudin Husain said that all the 171 suspects arrested in the raids were remanded for seven days.

Razarudin said the rescued children, aged between one and 17 years, were believed to be the offspring of GISBH members, undergoing documentation and health checks.

Today, he confirmed there were physical and emotional crimes inflicted on some of the 392 children who were rescued from 20 welfare homes.

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).

Razarudin also revealed today that a total of 96 bank accounts linked to GISBH worth RM581,552.31 have been frozen by authorities.

Authorities also ordered for eight vehicles to be confiscated.

He said these actions were taken in line with current investigations into the allegations of child exploitation involving charity homes believe to be owned by the company.

He added that the police’s investigations are in the direction of calling up the GISBH executive chairman and chief executive officer Datuk Nasiruddin Mohd Ali.

Razarudin however did not disclose a timeline for this.