Doctors have removed 14 needles from the body of a two-year-old Brazilian boy whose stepfather inserted the needles in an attempt to spite his wife, medics said.

THE two-year-old boy who had nearly three dozen sewing needles shoved into his body by his stepfather is expected to undergo another surgery this week, doctors said yesterday.

Doctors have successfully removed four sewing needles from the lung and near the heart of a Brazilian toddler, allegedly plunged into him by his stepfather during a month-long series of bizarre rituals.

The stepfather of a two-year-old boy claimed he pushed 42 "blessed" sewing needles deep into a toddler because his lover told him to, police in Brazil said today.