3 Gruesome Murders That Horrifyingly Made Their Mark in Malaysian History

We’ve all heard stories of notorious serial killers like Charles Manson and the Zodiac Killer and thought, ‘It’s a good thing we don’t have stories like that in Malaysia’. Lo and behold, Malaysia has had a number of notorious murder cases as well. Yikes! Read on as we list down serial killers who have made their own marks in Malaysian history. Be warned though, these stories are not for the faint of heart.

1. The killer Casanova 

Lee Chow Meng was almost 6 feet with looks that could be described as an ‘Asian Backstreet Boy’. Between 1996 and 1997, Lee raped approximately 18 women, five of which were said to be murdered. This was also one of the highest counts of rape victims in a single case ever recorded in Malaysian history in just one year!

Source: Sokmo.net

After his previous lover left him heartbroken, Lee started searching for victims through ads in the newspapers. Going by many aliases, he would set up meetings with his victims, drug them, extort them, then rape them before disappearing. For those who refused his requests, they would have a more gruesome ending.

Efforts to capture him included a reward worth RM50,000 for any information and posting 40,000 wanted posters all over the country. Lee’s reign of terror ended in August 1997 when authorities managed to capture him after receiving a report from one of his victims, who he extorted for RM10,000 in exchange for nude photos of her. While running away from police, Lee was shot in the leg and successfully taken into custody.

Source: Sokmo.net

In 1999, Lee was sentenced to 15 years in prison but succumbed to pneumonia while receiving treatment at the Taiping Hospital in 2001. Lee’s dying wish was to be cremated with two of his favourite sex manuals placed in his coffin.

2. The witch doctor’s search for fame

Source: YouTube

Maznah Ismail, a.k.a. Mona Fandey, dreamt of a life of fame from a young age. She even married her husband, Mohamad Nor Affandi Abdul Rahman, who promised to help fund her quest for fame. When her career in pop stardom failed, Mona and her husband decided to make a career switch to earn a living as shamans. Their decision proved fruitful as they raked in high-profile clientele willing to pay big bucks for the couple’s ‘divine intervention’.

In 1993, the couple was approached by Pahang state assemblyman Mazlan Idris who wanted help in securing a position as Chief Minister. The couple offered Mazlan a magic tongkat and songkok – rumoured to be owned by former Indonesian strongman President Sokarno – that would make him invincible, in exchange for RM2.5 million.

Source: The Reporter

The deal was struck and a black magic ritual was arranged at Mona’s house. Mazlan was asked to lie on the floor with his eyes closed and this ended with his decapitation by the couple’s assistant, Juraimi, with an axe. Mazlan’s remains were partially skinned and dismembered into 18 parts. It is also rumoured that the three had partook in cannibalism, as parts of Mazlan’s body were never found.

Source: LoyarBurok

Source: OhBulan

Mona and her husband were apprehended when Juraimi admitted to Mazlan’s murder while in custody for a drug charge. Their trial was sensationalised and Mona finally got the “fame” she’d always wanted. She remarked saying, ‘I appear to have many fans‘. All three were sentenced to hang. In 2001, on her way to the gallows, Mona was all smiles as she uttered her final words ‘aku takkan mati‘ (I will never die).

3. The leader of the gang

Source: Alchetron

P. Kalimuthu, a.k.a ‘Bentong Kali’, kickstarted his life of crime at the young age of 14, in year 1991. A school drop-out, Kali ‘enrolled’ himself into the notorious ‘Gang 04’ where he learnt the tricks of the trade. At 24, Kali had already been in and out of jail three times, including a two-year stint in maximum security Jerejak Island Prison in Penang (which was shut down in 1993).

Source: YouTube

In the years following his release from Jerejak Prison, Kali was charged once again with drug trafficking but was released from a lack of evidence. He laid low for a few years, acquiring his infamous German-made semi-automatic Sig Sauer P226 pistol that would be the centrepiece for all his killings. Kali also amassed a gallery of tattoos across his body, including one on his hand saying ‘Born to Die’.

After forming his gang, Kali would brazenly go about his activities of drug smuggling and killing for sport. Victims of his killing spree included four guests at the wedding party of a relative, a mamak stall owner and a homeowner who had picked a quarrel with Kali for urinating at his front gate.

Source: Alchetron

In 1993, police launched ‘Ops Buncit’ to bring down Kali and his men. A bounty of RM100,000 was placed on his head, with wanted posters of him plastered across the nation. About 200 police personnel were brought in across three states. However, Kali was unfazed by the manhunt and even dared task force chief Zaman Khan to come and get him.

Source: YouTube

Kali’s reign of terror ended that same year in a shoot-out when police surrounded his home in Medan Damansara. Kali was taken out by a sniper.

Although the lines of a serial killer are blurred in some of these cases, we cannot deny that they’ve committed their fair share of gruesome, spine-chilling crimes here in Malaysia! If reading these stories piqued your interest, delve into the minds of criminals and serial killers with this new crime thriller.

Adapted from the Ramlee Awang Murshid novel of the same name, Mandatori is a six-part mini-series centred around a gifted criminal profiler on the hunt for a brutal serial killer.

The series is available now on Astro First Eksklusif channel 480, and Astro on demand for only RM19.10 including GST! For more info, visit Astro First Best. Trust us when we say this is one show you do not want to miss. Be warned though, like the stories in this article, it might not be for the faint of heart. Think you can handle ah?