KULAI: A private orphanage in Kulai, Johor has been ordered to close temporarily after its chairman was arrested for alleged involvement in rape and abuse cases involving the residents.
According to Kulai police chief Tan Seng Lee, the orphanage’s chairman was arrested on Nov 30 following allegations that he raped and impregnated a 17-year-old resident between 2020 and 2022, when she was 13 to 15 years old.
The 59-year-old suspect – who, along with the orphanage, was not named – was rearrested on Dec 10 for alleged child abuse after closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage showed him aggressively caning a girl in the same orphanage, according to media outlet Malay Mail.
The man claimed trial at the Johor Bahru Sessions Court on Sunday (Dec 15) to charges of rape and abuse of a minor.
Chairman of the Johor Women, Family and Community Development Committee Khairin-Nisa Ismail @ Md On said the order to close the orphanage was issued by the director-general of Johor Welfare Department in accordance with Section 15 of the Care Centres Act 1993.
The Johor Welfare Department took custody of all 55 children, aged between 10 and 17, residing at the orphanage.
Of the 55 children, 32 were returned to their biological parents. The other 23 children, comprising 10 boys and 13 girls, were placed at a designated safe facility under the care of the Johor Welfare Department, Khairin-Nisa said in a statement on Tuesday.
Separately, Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution said in a parliamentary reply last Wednesday that the government is planning more comprehensive provisions and harsher penalties under the Child Act 2001 to prevent future child abuse cases.
He was responding to a question by Member of Parliament for Sibu Oscar Ling Chai Yew, who wanted the government to improve enforcement of the Child Act following high-profile cases such as the one linked to controversial Muslim conglomerate Global Ikhsan Services and Business Holdings (GISB).
The GISB case saw Malaysian authorities raiding 20 of its welfare homes in Selangor and Negeri Sembilan in September and rescuing 402 children and teenagers.
Initial investigations found at least 13 of them had been sodomised or taught to sexually abuse others. As of Oct 8, the number of rescued youths had ballooned to 625, reported The Star.
Meanwhile, at least 425 individuals linked to GISB, including its senior management, have been arrested. Its chief executive officer and chairman Nasiruddin Mohd Ali was among 22 people charged in court on Oct 23 for being part of an organised crime group.
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/asia/johor-malaysia-kulai-orphanage-closed-abuse-rape-allegations-4813916
