Home minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said the investigation needed careful handling as it involved the thoughts and decisions of a child, Berita Harian reported.

“This case is complicated because it involves children willing to leave school after seeing these activities as a source of income.

“At this time, we have not been able to confirm the existence of a mastermind,” he said after his ministry’s monthly assembly today.

In the Dewan Rakyat yesterday, Saifuddin said the authorities had busted a group of four 12-year-olds selling pictures of themselves on WhatsApp.

He said some of the girls decided to drop out of school as they were making more money than their parents from the sale of their pictures.

The four girls had a WhatsApp group with many members, “762 to be specific”.

The investigation is being carried out by the sexual, women and child investigations division.

Saifuddin said the case also used the same method as the swinger case previously uncovered by the police, and that both cases involved long intelligence processes.