The 560 children – 283 boys and 277 girls – were in the temporary custody of the social welfare department (JKM) after it obtained a protection order from the court, Bernama reported.

“JKM’s role is not to separate children from their parents. Instead, our responsibility is to protect and care for the children,” Nancy was quoted as saying.

On Oct 16, she was reported to have said that JKM would apply to the court to extend the protection order if the current two-month period expires before police wrap up their investigations.

Nancy’s aide told FMT today that the 55 children were returned to their guardians based on the advice of the police.

Last Sunday, Nancy said none of the children had been returned to their parents or guardians due to concerns over potential custody battles.

She explained that there were instances where both a child’s mother and father filed separate custody applications.

GISBH is being investigated for child abuse, sexual abuse, human trafficking, money laundering and deviant Islamic teachings, with six states having declared its teachings and practices as deviant over the past month.

On Sept 11, police raided welfare homes that the authorities linked to GISBH and rescued 402 children. Some of the children were allegedly sodomised and coached to sexually assault others.

Police have since raided more welfare homes linked to GISBH, which previously said it had discarded its former image as the business wing of Al-Arqam, a cult movement declared deviant by the National Fatwa Council in 1994.

More than 300 people associated with GISBH, including its top management, were detained in recent operations to clamp down on the company’s activities across the country.