Malaysia charges man linked to Islamic firm in alleged child abuse scandal

PUTRAJAYA, Malaysia (Reuters) - A Malaysian man, who authorities say is linked to an Islamic conglomerate accused of running charity homes where children were allegedly abused, was charged with criminal intimidation in court on Wednesday, a court document sighted by Reuters showed.

Mohamad Riza Makar, 39, pleaded not guilty to allegedly threatening a woman who used to work for the conglomerate to withdraw a police report, according to a charge sheet sighted by Reuters and confirmed by a police investigator.

State news agency Bernama reported that Mohamad Riza, a businessman with three wives and 10 children, was released on bail of 10,000 ringgit ($2,360). If convicted of the criminal intimidation charge, he could face jail time of up to two years, a fine or both.

Mohamad Riza and his lawyer could not be immediately reached for comment after the hearing. A representative for the company, Global Ikhwan Services and Business (GISB) Holdings, did not respond to a request for comment.

Last week, police rescued over 400 children during raids on 20 charity homes the authorities have said are owned by GISB. Many children showed signs of sexual abuse and neglect, police have said.

GISB has said it did not manage the shelters and has denied accusations of widespread abuse, although its chief executive acknowledged on Saturday that "one or two" cases of sodomy occurred at the homes.

Mohamad Riza is the second figure linked to the GISB investigation to be charged in court. A 19-year-old girl was charged last week with child abuse in connection with the case, Bernama reported.

GISB has been linked to Al-Arqam, a religious sect banned by the government in 1994. The firm has acknowledged the link but now describes itself as an Islamic conglomerate based on Muslim principles.

($1 = 4.2340 ringgit)

(Reporting by Mandy Leong and Danial Azhar; Writing by Rozanna Latiff; Editing by John Mair and Miral Fahmy)