After escaping from the house in the morning, the teenager lodged a police report at about 4.10pm alleging the exploitation of multiple children at a house in Taman Bukit Seputeh, Kuala Lumpur.

According to the preliminary investigation by police, the 55-year-old man and his 54-year-old wife took 17 children from an orphanage in Kulim, Kedah, to their home in Kuala Lumpur in 2017 and forced them to do housework all day under the threat of physical beatings if they did not comply.

In a statement, police said they found that since being taken from the orphanage, 14 of the children had managed to escape.

In addition to the arrests, five children between the ages of eight and 17 were rescued from the house, all believed to be victims of human trafficking.

The couple is being investigated for child trafficking under Section 14 of the Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Anti-Smuggling of Migrants Act 2007, which carries a sentence of between three and 20 years in jail and a potential fine, upon conviction.