KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia – A 3-year-old girl was killed in a suspected exorcism ritual by her parents and other relatives, Malaysian police said.
District police chief Azman Abdul Lah said police raided a house in northern Penang state late Sunday after receiving a distress call from a relative and found a group of eight people lying on top of the girl in a bedroom.
He said the girl was lying face down under the human pile, which comprised her parents, grandmother, uncle, aunt, two cousins and their Indonesian maid. He says the room was dark and that chanting could be heard from under a blanket covering the group.
Azman said Tuesday that the girl, who was ethnic Chinese, died of suffocation. He said all eight have been detained for investigation into the case.