An American woman whose remains were unearthed on Friday in Malaysia is believed to have been the victim of a ritual murder carried out to obtain lottery numbers,police say.
Police quoted by Sunday newspapers said the remains werebelieved to be those of Carolyn Jamica Noraini Abdullah (35).
The mother of three, who was married to a local doctor, wentmissing in November 1999. Reports said her husband had identified some clothing found inthe shallow grave in an oil palm plantation at Sungai Siput in thenorthwestern state of Perak.
Mr Zuber Shariff, the state detective chief, said a 30-year-oldsuspect, who was arrested last Thursday following a tip-off, ledpolice to the grave.
He said the man and two others reportedly killed their victim ina ritual aimed at obtaining winning lottery numbers.
One other suspect was serving a six-year jail sentence for a firearms offence and police would interview him soon. The other diedin a road accident early this year.
Police would carry out DNA tests to confirm the victim'sidentity.