India, Jan. 3 -- A court in southern China has handed a suspended jail sentence to a woman who accidentally killed her daughter while performing what she believed was an "exorcism" ritual at home, authorities said.

According to a report by the South China Morning Post, the court in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, sentenced the woman, surnamed Li, to a 3-year jail term suspended for 4 years in July. Her elder daughter, who took part in the ritual, received the same sentence. The judgment was delivered in July on charges of negligent homicide.

Prosecutors said Li and her two daughters had become deeply influenced by superstitious ideas involving telepathy and possession. They were convinced that demons were attacking them and that their "so...