Malaysian authorities have rescued hundreds of children from care homes where they were allegedly physically and sexually abused and have arrested scores of people in large scale raids, police said on Wednesday.

Police inspector-general Razarudin Husain said 402 children, aged between one and 17, were rescued during raids at various charity homes in the states of Selangor and Negeri Sembilan on Tuesday.

The morning raids involved almost 1,000 personnel from police and other agencies.

That led to some 170 arrests, including Islamic religious teachers and caretakers at the welfare homes, he added.

Initial investigations revealed that the victims were sexually abused by their caretakers and forced to abuse other children, Razarudin told a news conference in Pahang state.

"Victims who were ill were not allowed to seek treatment at clinics until their condition became critical," he said, adding that some as young as five were also burnt with hot spoons.

He said the children would be temporarily housed at a police training centre in the capital Kuala Lumpur and would undergo health checks. (AFP)