Asia-Pacific News
Teenager nearly blinded when eyes gouged to remove devil
Nov 25, 2007, 23:27 GMT
Wellington - A 14-year-old New Zealand girl was nearly blinded when relatives gouged her eyeballs to remove the devil in a Maori exorcism ceremony, a newspaper reported on Monday.
Her family believed that they saw the devil in her eyes and tried to scratch it out with their fingers, Wellington's Dominion Post reported.
The girl, who was not named, had chunks gouged from her eyeballs and was taken to hospital where specialists believe they have saved her sight, the paper said.
The girl was reported to be a cousin of Janet Moses, 22, mother of two, who died during an exorcism ceremony performed on at least seven members of the family to lift a Maori curse reportedly imposed after a stone statue of a lion was stolen.
Police investigating the death said they were consulting Maori experts.
'We know what's happened, but we're assessing the culpability of individuals,' a detective told the paper.
© 2007 dpa - Deutsche Presse-AgenturCOMMENT
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