PETALING JAYA, Nov 25 — Two siblings, who were detained for allegedly killing their 63-year-old mother in their home on November 10, has been sent for psychiatric evaluation.

Cheras police chief ACP Chong Kok Sin said initial investigations revealed that the victim’s 25-year-old son and 22-year-old daughter were deemed mentally unsound.

“The two suspects were ordered by a chief medical officer from Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Hospital to undergo a psychiatric evaluation at Hospital Bahagia, in Tanjong Rambutan, Perak.

“The suspects were taken to the Hospital Bahagia at 2.30pm yesterday,” he said.

Chong said police were still investigating the case for murder and would wait for the mental health report on the suspects before sending the case to the deputy public prosecutor’s office for the next course of action.

On November 10, police had gone to the Sri Penara apartments in Bandar Sri Permaisuri, Cheras, after neighbours saw water flowing out of the unit.

The victim, Wan Yah Wan Mat, was found motionless on the living room floor with blood oozing from her nose and mouth. She had bruises on her face and the back of her head, and is believed to have died from blows to the head.

Her son, an undergraduate at the International Islamic University, was found sprawled on a sofa in front of his mother’s body while his sister, a student at Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia Nilai, was later found in a “disturbed” state in one of the bedrooms.

There were intense speculation that Wan Yah, who had arrived on November 6 from Tumpat, could have been the victim of a ritual killing or an exorcism gone wrong.

Neighbours said the female suspect often had bouts of hysteria and believe the mother was killed after she attempted to carry out an exorcism.