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"There are many instances of people with ordinary illness, or light cases of spirit possession, consulting mediums and eventually being cured," he says.

Chin, a metaphysician and feng shui master, describes a medium as the physical mouthpiece of spirits or "beings of another dimension".

If the medium is a fake, then the whole process becomes a farce. "It's dangerous to consult mediums if one does not have enough knowledge to differentiate between real and false mediums. A fake medium is a con artist waiting to prey on the ignorant and the naive," he notes.

He thinks people do it out of fear born from incorrect religious knowledge, wrong understanding of the metaphysics, psychology and philosophy of religious teachings, and, worse of all, a lack of logical thinking.

The toddler's death is not an isolated incident where belief in the supernatural led to heartbreaking con sequences.

Early this year, two men lodged police reports against a woman medium, claiming that she made their family members join a cult and disown them.

The duo from South Seberang Prai claimed that the medium, said to be leading a cult that frowns on idols and ancestor worship, had allegedly turned children against their parents.

Chin believes there are many religious cults operating in Malaysia, mostly off-shoots of the world's five major religions - Buddhism, Taoism, Christianity, Islam and Hinduism.

"Among these mainstream' religions, there is sectarianism and sub-sectarianism. While many people objectively believed that sectarianism and sub-sectarianism breed cultism, its is, to my opinion, erroneous thinking.

"Sectarianism and sub-sectarianism happen simply because they have been founded to cater to the different mental dispositions and levels of wisdom of the followers. I wouldn't call it cult unless these groups exhibit violent and anti-social characteristics," he opines.

And it's not just in Malaysia that belief in the supernatural has continued to maintain an iron grip on society.

In Britain, the Guardian News & Media recently reported that belief in witchcraft is on the increase and many cases of "ritual abuse" have come under the radar of the authorities.

The British government has reportedly announced plans to tackle the "wall of silence" around the abuse and neglect of children accused of witchcraft after deadly exorcisms were conducted on Kristy Bamu in London two years ago.

Chin points to charismatic religious leaders who cannot abide by the recognised mainstream religious teachings, rules and regulations, as the direct cause of religious cultism.

These individuals set out to build their own group of followers with the aim of controlling the followers, dictatorship style.

"It's very difficult to define the term religious cultism simply because the lines of authenticity in religious activity is already blurred."

Chew says living in an Asian community where mediums are widely accepted, no one bats an eyelid when highly educated professionals consult mediums.

"People are genuinely curious about their future and are always finding ways to improve their luck in wealth, love and other aspects of their lives. I've visited a few mediums myself," she confesses.

"When I was still in school, my mum used to take me to mediums before major exams. Looking back, I am not sure whether all the burnt talisman I drank was just a placebo effect to boost my self-confidence," she muses.

Chew, however, believes that genuine mediums are not doing it for the money as they only charge a nominal fee or accept a token red packet. "They need to earn a living too so you can't expect them to help you for free.

"Good or genuine mediums will think about karmic repercussions before giving any advice to people who come to them for help," she adds. Chew notes that some even take on the role of a counsellor or psychiatrist, listening to people's problems.

Chew tells of a trip to consult a diviner who is supposedly accurate in card divination.

"One elderly lady took more than 45 minutes to ask trivial questions. Later, I found out that she visits the diviner almost daily as she is lonely and all of her children have grown up," Chew says.

Although she has not encountered spirits herself, the Buddhist woman is convinced of their existence. After her mother passed away, a relative took Chew to a medium who condu cted a seance. "We could ask wha tever we wanted.

What was amazing was that the words uttered were exactly what my mother would have said had she been alive. Even the manner in which it was spoken was similar," she recalls.

Asians still prefer consulting a medium or seeking divine help as it has been the norm over the ages, Chew observes. "There is no social stigma unlike seeing a psychiatrist."