Malaysian authorities on Wednesday rescued 402 children and arrested 171 suspects after raiding 20 welfare homes linked to an Islamic business group, in which children were exploited and sexually abused, the national police chief said.

Inspector-General of Police Razarudin Husain said the raids were conducted after investigations into allegations of child abandonment, deviant teachings and sexual assault at the homes, run by the Global Ikhwan Services and Business Holdings.

Some 201 boys and 201 girls, aged between 1 to 17 years, were rescued from 18 homes in central Selangor state and two in southern Negeri Sembilan state, he said. The 171 suspects — 66 men and 105 women — included religious teachers and caretakers, he said.

Children were sexually abused not only by the caretakers but were also forced to do the same to each other at the facilities, Razarudin said in a televised news conference.

“Those who were sick were not allowed to seek medical attention until their condition became critical,” he said. Some young children were also burnt with a hot spoon when they made mistakes, and caretakers had touched the children’s bodies as if to conduct medical checks, he said.

Police believed that Global Ikhwan exploited the children and used religious sentiments to collect donations, he said.

Investigations showed that the children at the welfare homes belonged to members of the Global Ikhwan group, placed by their parents at the homes since they were infants, he said. The children would undergo medical assessment amid ongoing investigations, he added.

According to its website, Global Ikhwan was founded by Ashaari Mohamad, who headed the Islamic sect Al Arqam which was deemed heretical and banned by the government in 1994. It said the group had undergone a series of rebranding since Ashaari died in 2010.

The group recently also came under the radar of Islamic authorities amid claims that it was still involved with the deviant teachings of the Al-Arqam sect.

Global Ikhwan, in a statement Wednesday, denied allegations that it exploited children and said that it would cooperate with authorities. But it made no mention of allegations of sexual abuse against them.

“The company will not compromise with any activity that goes against the law, particularly regarding the exploitation of children as workers,” the statement said.

Global Ikhwan’s website said it is involved in a wide range of businesses including food and beverage, media, medical, travel and property. It employs more than 5,000 people and has branches in 20 countries including a chain of restaurants in London, Paris, Australia and Dubai among others.