The three-year-old girl reportedly died of suffocation following a lengthy exorcism ritual in which seven family members and a maid piled on top of the child, suffocating her to death.

According to The Sun, the ritual was being held by the ethnic Chinese family last Sunday in the northern town of Bukit Mertajam. The brother of the child's father was the one who tipped off the police. When they entered the house and broke down the bedroom door, they found eight people covered with a blanket with the victim pinned under them. They were also said to have been chanting in the room when they were discovered. Police believe they were involved in an exorcism ritual to drive away evil spirits.

The eight suspects, including the family's Indonesian maid, have been detained and are being investigated for murder. The others detained were the victim's parents, grandmother, uncle, aunt, and two cousins.