In a small victory for religious minorities in Malaysia, a court on Friday ordered a woman's body to be handed over to her family for a Christian funeral after Islamic authorities retracted their claim that she had converted to Islam.

Wong Sau Lan died on December 30, but her body was kept in a hospital morgue until the dispute over her religion was resolved.

A court on Friday said that the conversion was not valid as it was not carried out properly, and ordered the body to be released to her husband.

A series of inter-faith disputes in the recent past has led minority groups to allege that their religious rights were being trampled on by the majority Muslims.

Wong's husband, Ngiam Tee Kong will cremate his 53-year-old wife's body in a Christian funeral early next week, said his lawyer Karpal Singh.

Ngiam has maintained that his wife was a Christian when she died and he may sue the hospital and the Islamic department for damages.