10-year-old girl burnt and abused in exorcism

In Malaysia last month, a young girl finds herself the victim of superstition and abuse:

A 10-year-old girl who was bound, beaten and burnt for a month as part of an exorcism ritual escaped on Monday after picking the lock on the chain around her ankle.

The unnamed girl was left in care of a relative after her father passed away. Perhaps the relative (also unidentified) resented the extra mouth to feed. A local medium told him that the girl was an unlucky omen for the family. So naturally he began to torture her:

Initially, she was deprived of food, given only rice laced with turmeric powder and chilli.

Then, she was chained and beaten up. This allegedly went on for a month until Monday morning when she managed to pick the lock and freed herself.

The relative and his wife told the girl that this was all for her own good.

At the time of the report, she was receiving medical care in a hospital, and the relative was under arrest. The girl testified that she would rather be put in foster care than go back to her relative's home.

No word on whether the fraudulent medium will receive any charges as well.

Just one more entry against the line, "What's the harm?"