Cousins jailed for ritual killing

Kuala Lumpur, 25 Jan-(ANA)-Two Malaysian cousins have been jailed for 10 years each for beating one of the men's parents to death during a ritual to expel evil spirits.

The men used brooms and motorcycle helmets to attack the couple in 2008, aiming to cure them of their smoking habit and other problems.

They were acting on a third man's advice, who said he had magical powers and could raise the dead.

The court ruled he had been mentally unsound at the time of the killings.

The court in Kuala Lumpur heard how Muhammad Fauzi Abdul Razak, now 23, and Muhammad Nizam Mohd Ibrahim, 21, beat the latter's parents at a family gathering in October 2008.

They had said they were acting on the advice of Muhammad Fauzi's brother, Muhammad Ilyas Abdul Razak, who testified in court that he had been given powers by the leader of a banned cult, enabling him to cure illnesses and raise the dead. (ANA)

FA/ANA/25 January 2010---