An eight-year-old girl was tortured to death by her stepmother in Riyadh, while the victim’s 11-year-old brother is undergoing physical and psychological treatment at King Fahad Medical City after suffering the same abuse, local media said.

Both Rua and Ahmed were reportedly suffering from sickle cell anemia when they were subjected to continued torture at the hands of their father’s wife. Both children lived with their father following their parent’s divorce, sabq.org electronic newspaper reported.

Speaking to reporters from hospital, Ahmed said their stepmother has continuously tortured them and deprived them of food.

On one occassion, the woman, by the name of Kulthum, hit them with a wire and sent them to stand in the sun for eating two biscuits the night before. Rua then broke down in tears due to fatigue, prompting the woman to allow them back into the house.

She then ordered them to stand on one leg and eventually hit them with a broom stick, knocking his sister unconscious, he said.

Rua’s mother, who was in the hospital as Ahmed was telling the story, said her daughter died for a couple of biscuits and vowed to demand capital punishment for the murder of her sick young daughter.

The stepmother, in her 40s, was arrested after admitting to the crime, the paper said.

Rua’s body had been shifted to Iman Hospital, where initial medical examination ruled death as a result of torture. The case has been referred to the Bureau of Investigation, the paper said.