LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - The fetuses were between two and seven months old. All of them had been roasted, some of them covered in gold leaf.

Thai police received a tip that a black magic services Web site was offering fetuses for sale. Roasting fetuses and covering them in gold is part of a black magic ritual called Kuman thong, which means "golden child" in Thai. According to the International Business Times, the preserved bodies are thought to bring good fortune to the owner.

Authorities believe that Chow was planning to smuggle the fetuses to his native Taiwan, where one corpse could sell for up to $200,000 Thai baht, or $6,376 in American dollars.

Chow faces up to a year in prison on charges of hiding and covering dead bodies. Investigators say it's unclear where the fetuses came from, though forensic tests are currently being conducted on the bodies.

In less extreme forms of the ritual, effigies are made, traditionally from wood, but often featuring gold, which are then kept and treated well with regular worship, in order to bring good luck to the owner.

Smaller charms can also be made that are worn around the neck as a good luck charm.
However, there is a dark and extreme side to the belief system, in which worshippers delve into the world of the occult.

The original, ancient form of the Kuman Thong would require a dead fetus, often surgically removed from the mother's womb. The fetus would then be taken to a cemetery, where a series of incantations were recited as the fetus was roasted.

Illegal practitioners have been known to coat their effigies in the fat of human babies to consecrate them.

The earliest mention of the belief in Kuman Thong can be found in the 18th century Thai fairytale of Khun Chang Khun Phaen, where the character of Khun Phaen acquires a powerful spirit by removing the fetus of his stillborn son from his wife.

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