Some of
Malaysia's famous criminals - Page from the past but now the criminals are more savvy and more notorious as they are now in the Government
Fearsome 4some: Malaysia’s
most notorious criminals, Part 1
| January 22, 2016
In the first of a two-parter, we look back
(from a safe distance) at the lawless lives and dramatic demises of criminal
legends Mona Fandey and Botak Chin.
SPECIAL
‘True crime’ enthusiasts peering through the
bars of the Malaysian penal system may feel ‘robbed’ of a sense of fanboy/girl
exhilaration. Staring back at them are puny hordes of small-timers and bunglers
whose misdeeds (however grave) are yawn-inducingly pedestrian, microscopic in
scale, and utterly lacking in cinematic or literary potential. None of today’s
wicked wannabes have a clue about hardcore criminals, and can’t hold a candle
(let alone a knife) to the blood-spattered criminal aristocrats of the recent
past. Now THOSE guys broke laws like a boss. They shot, stabbed and
strangled their way into Malaysian history, and though they stole or extorted a
great deal, our criminal folklore is all the richer because of them.
Maznah Ismail, aka ‘Mona Fandey’
1956 – 2001
1956 – 2001
- Young Maznah yearned for fame –
though initially, not through dabbling in the occult. At a young age, she
began singing and dancing (even doing water ballet), driven by dreams of
pop stardom. She married her biggest fan, Mohamad Nor Affandi Abdul Rahman
(who promised to help fund her quest) and adopted the stage name ‘Mona
Fandey’, inspired by her husband’s pet moniker.
- The duo explored all avenues to
launch Mona’s showbiz career and propagate her image, including producing
and releasing an album titled ‘Diana’ (possibly named after her
step-daughter, Mazdiana Affandi) as well as making several TV appearances
(a 1987 music video can be viewed here: ‘Ratapan Anak’ by Mona Fandey).
But their efforts came to naught, and Mona wisely abandoned her pursuit by
the close of the decade.
- Still hungry for fame (and its
attendant power and money), Mona and Affandi made the unusual career
change to spiritual witchcraft, earning a living from being shamans. With
this, they hit the jackpot as they were somehow able to attract an elite,
upper-class clientele, who shelled out big money and privileges for
the duo’s services. Mona even bragged of having supplied numerous senior
politicians in the ruling party with myriad charms and talismans. The
couple became so successful, they were able to purchase mansions in
different states and a small fleet of luxury cars.
- Things went famously criminal
in 1993 when the duo was approached by rising Umno star, Pahang state
assemblyman Mazlan Idris, who had an eye on the Chief Minister post and
wanted their help to achieve his goal.
- A deal was struck: the couple
offered Mazlan a magic tongkat and songkok,
supposedly owned by former Indonesian strongman President Sukarno, which
would make him ‘invincible’. The cost: RM2.5 million. Mazlan would pay the
couple RM500,000 as a deposit and 10 land titles as guarantee
for the remaining RM2 million.
- Shortly after the initial
transaction, a black magic cleansing ritual was arranged at Mona’s house
near Raub, Pahang. The ceremony was attended by the couple, Mazlan, and
Mona’s assistant, Juraimi Hassan. The ritual began with Mazlan being asked
to lie on the floor and close his eyes – but the event took an even
weirder turn when Juraimi chopped the politician’s head off with an axe.
The trio then dismembered and partially-skinned the body (some parts were
never found and are thought to have been eaten).
- Mazlan had been missing for
two weeks before a report over his disappearance was lodged (only
because he had failed to turn up for several Umno functions).
Meanwhile, Mona went shopping, purchasing a Mercedes-Benz and a facelift.
- There were no leads on the case
until Juraimi was apprehended over an unrelated drug offense. Possibly
while high, he confessed to Mazlan’s murder (which he had not been linked
to) and led police to a storeroom near Mona’s house, where Mazlan’s body
had been buried in 18 different parts. Mona and Affandi were apprehended
soon after.
- The 1995 trial was a sensation,
and Mona perversely revelled being in the spotlight. Far from shielding
her face from cameras, she sought them out, flashing canyon-wide smiles to
the media while modeling funky and colourful ensembles. She bathed in the
attention and cheerfully remarked to the press: “I appear to have many
fans.” In the most warped way, Mona had finally achieved what she always
craved: fame – and she was beside herself.
- Mona, Affandi and Juraimi were
all found guilty and sentenced by the High Court to death by hanging. The
trial had been so turbulent and dramatic that it contributed to the
government’s decision to discontinue Malaysia’s trial-by-jury system
shortly after.
- In late 2001, the trio was
given a last meal of KFC the night before their execution. As Mona was led
to the gallows of Kajang Prison, she smiled and calmly stated: “I will
never die.” (In a way, this article is proof of that).
- Two of Mona’s abandoned
mansions – one in Section 12, Shah Alam (known as the ‘Aeroplane Bungalow’
because of its strange architecture) and another near Raub, Pahang (which
reportedly has no windows) – still stand, and are must-visits among
ghosthunters, several of whom have revealed encountering strange phenomena
during their excursions there.
Wong Swee Chin, aka ‘Botak Chin’
1951 – 1981
1951 – 1981
- Although Chin dropped out of
school at 15 and had no intellectual pursuits, he was thought to be
intelligent (this was later confirmed by Dr Mahadevan, Director of
Tanjung Rambutan Mental Hospital, who declared Chin ‘a genius’ while
assessing his fitness to stand trial in 1980.)
- In spite of quitting the
scholastic world, Chin stuck to the straight and narrow, doing honest odd
jobs – primarily selling fish at a pasar malam (night market) in Jalan Tun
Ismail. One night, he was beaten up by local gangsters for refusing to
give in to their extortion demands. The enfeebling/emasculating incident
drove Chin towards befriending small-time hoodlums who offered him
protection and martial arts lessons. He was soon minoring in petty crimes
studies.
- At age 18, Chin formed a gang
after illegally obtaining a .22 caliber revolver. They kicked things off
with a bang, committing eight robberies in the space of just one month.
But Chin was still new at this and was soon arrested, convicted and
sentenced to seven years in jail.
- Following incarceration, Chin
attempted to retire from gangsterism, setting up a grocery store. But the
trade brought in little in terms of money. In 1975, after travelling to
Thailand to procure illegal firearms, Chin recruited three notorious
mobsters and founded a shiny, brand new gang. Their reign of terror soon
followed: in the next two years, the gang robbed banks, clubs, illegal
gambling dens, armoured trucks and even temples, netting almost RM1
million and gunning down dozens of civilians, rival gangsters and
policemen in the process. Chin’s gang turned KL into a lawless cowboy
town, where gun battles and high-speed car chases would often
spontaneously erupt.
- Chin developed a reputation as
a modern-day Robin Hood – not because he stole from the rich to give to
the poor, but because he ensured that loyal followers and their families
(invariably from slum communities) were always taken care of. In spite of
having a full head of hair, he was dubbed ‘Botak’ – an acronym for “Bantu
Orang Tak Ada Kerja.”
- By the late 1970s, Chin’s gang
began to fall apart – many of his members had been killed or arrested, and
the bulk of his weapons cache had been seized. After being set up by his
own disgruntled men, Chin was finally captured following a gunfight with
police – he was riddled with six bullets but survived.
- In 1980, Chin was arraigned on
multiple felony charges, including three indictments under the ISA. He
pled guilty only to the ISA charges – becoming the first Malaysian to do
so. He was found guilty, sentenced to death by hanging and imprisoned at
Pudu Jail. Within weeks, the jail was unexpectedly flooded with letters
and besieged by phone calls from Chin’s legion of female admirers.
- Months before his scheduled
execution, Chin stabbed several wardens in a brazen escape
attempt but was unsuccessful. He was finally put to death in mid-1981
– not for the numerous murders he had committed (and never admitted to),
but solely for the possession of firearms, a capital offense. He was 29
years old.
Fearsome 4some: Msia’s
most notorious criminals, Part II
| January 25, 2016
In the second of a two-parter, we look back
(from a safe distance) at the lawless lives and dramatic demises of criminal
legends Bentong Kali and Mat Komando.
SPECIAL
‘True crime’ enthusiasts peering through the
bars of the Malaysian penal system may feel ‘robbed’ of a sense of fanboy/girl
exhilaration. Staring back at them are puny hordes of small-timers and bunglers
whose misdeeds (however grave) are yawn-inducingly pedestrian, microscopic in
scale, and utterly lacking in cinematic or literary potential. None of today’s
wicked wannabes have a clue about hardcore criminals, and can’t hold a candle
(let alone a knife) to the blood-spattered criminal aristocrats of the recent
past. Now THOSE guys broke laws like a boss. They shot, stabbed and
strangled their way into Malaysian history, and though they stole or extorted a
great deal, our criminal folklore is all the richer because of them.
R Kalimuthu, aka ‘Bentong Kali’
1961 – 1993
1961 – 1993
- Born and raised in Bentong,
Pahang, Kali was a hot-tempered, academics-allergic kid who was going
nowhere fast. At 14, he dropped out of school and promptly ‘enrolled’ in a
malicious triad named ‘Gang 04’, which taught him the 3 ‘Rs’ of
scholarship: Robbery, Recreational drug smuggling and Ruthlessness.
- Kali was apparently a bit of a
slow learner though, because he was arrested by the police within months.
He spent the rest of his teenage years in prison, emerging from jail when
he was almost 20. Wary of the tired cliché of the ‘reformed convict’ who
‘turns over a new leaf’ upon release, Kali determinedly re-connected with
members of Gang 04 and took on ‘outstation’ assignments, which saw him
swanning and wreaking havoc across the Peninsula.
- In 1985, delinquent Kali was
arrested once again – this time under the Emergency Ordinance. He was
imprisoned in what was then known as the ‘Alcatraz of Malaysia’ – the
maximum security Jerejak Island Prison in Penang (it was closed down
in 1993). In 1987, he was released and transferred to Kuantan, Pahang,
where he was placed under house arrest and not allowed to leave the state.
He was traced again in Gopeng, Perak in 1990 and charged with drug
trafficking, but incredibly, was released due to a ‘lack of evidence’.
- It was while he was on the
down-low that Kali is thought to have acquired two of his signature
possessions: a German-made semi-automatic Sig Sauer P226 pistol, which he
would use in all his proceeding gun battles and murders; and an art
gallery of tattoos that would cover his body, including one on his hand
that said “Born to die”.
- In 1991, Kali re-emerged in the
centre of it all – which in Malaysia simply means ho-hum Segambut, Sungei
Way and Brickfields in the Klang Valley. He joined a group of mobsters
known as ‘Gang 08’, which specialised in heroin trafficking and extortion,
partly as a way of networking and learning the lay of the land.
- A few months later, Kali
left Gang 08 and founded his own law-averse posse known as ‘Gang 04
of Jalan Klang Lama’. This marked the beginning of Kali’s reign of terror
in KL.
- While brazenly carrying out
racketeering, drug smuggling and other questionable activities across the
capital, Kali would fly into sudden rages and kill simply for the sake of
killing – perhaps even for kicks. He had officially crossed into homicidal
sociopath territory, crashing the wedding party of a relative, causing a
commotion, and shooting four guests to death; gunning down a homeowner who
was upset that Kali was urinating at his front gate; and executing a mamak
stall owner for no discernible reason. By the end of 1992, Kali was
personally implicated in at least 17 murders.
- By 1993, the police had had
enough and launched ‘Ops Buncit’ to snuff Kali and Co out. A
mini-army of 200 police personnel in three states was mobilised to bring
him down, a bounty of RM100,000 was placed on his head, and “Wanted”
posters of Kali were plastered across the Peninsula and southern Thailand.
Kali was, however, so unconcerned that at the height of the manhunt,
he placed a direct call to Dato’ Zaman Khan, the task force chief himself,
and dared Zaman to come get him.
- In mid-1993, police eventually
tracked Kali down – not to a middle-of-nowhere jungle hideout, but to a
pretty house in upscale(ish) Medan Damansara. While clueless Kali did
‘Kali’ things inside, the RMP pulled out all the stops and encircled
the house with snipers, a bomb squad, and a Special Operations Command
team of elite police officers from Bukit Aman. A shootout commenced and
all inside were killed, except for Kali – but when he tried to escape from
the second-floor balcony, it was lights out, courtesy of a sniper. Kali
was 32 years old.
Ahmad Mohd Arshad, aka ‘Mat Komando’
1965 – 2002
1965 – 2002
- Much of Mat’s personal life is
shrouded in mystery. He is thought to have been born and raised in Yan,
Kedah. It is not known if he completed his schooling, but in his late
teens, he enlisted in the army and served with them for several
years.
- Mat gained serious swag when,
after earning his stripes, he was recruited as a member of an elite
commando unit of the Malaysian army where he trained for
two years before dropping out for reasons unknown.
- Mat got married and fathered a
child (who was reportedly hearing impaired). To support his family, he did
a string of jobs – driving lorries, buses and taxis. But the driving
was mundane and before long, Mat began to dream of a job that would
satisfy both his love for living dangerously and his desire for big
bucks.
- In between taxi passengers, Mat
hooked up with other malcontents – some former military dropouts – and
hatched an ambitious scheme. Before long, he had formed his military-style
‘Gang 13’, and after acquiring illegal arms, the stage was set for Mat
Komando to strike.
- The gang started modestly by
raiding the remote offices of palm oil plantations in Kedah and seizing
their sizable cash caches. But after their engines were revved, they swung
into high gear and carried out highly-orchestrated, military-style
operations on banks, pawnshops, currency exchange outlets, post offices
and individuals. Their mobility was astounding – within a year, they had
struck in seven different states, from Perlis to Johor, Negeri Sembilan to
Kelantan. Between 2001 and 2002, Mat had masterminded 52 armed robberies
and netted RM2.5 million in cash. And as a testament to their daring, none
of the gang bothered to wear masks to hide their identities in any
way while carrying out their heists.
- With his rap sheet now covered
with such crimes as armed assault, high-scale robbery and illegal
possession of firearms, Mat became Malaysia’s most wanted man. In
mid-2001, the authorities launched ‘Ops Api Sawi’ and their manhunt for
Mat and his gang commenced.
- But if the authorities had
expected Ops Api Sawi to be a swift operation, they were in for a surprise
– the pursuit would last 255 days, the longest in Malaysian history. (They
were, after all, hunting a commando.) At the start of the campaign, the
police traced Mat to a resort in Pedu Lake, Kedah, where he had apparently
checked in for a breather with friends and family. After surrounding the
party’s chalet, a fierce gun battle broke out and several of Mat’s men
were killed – but he himself escaped unharmed into the surrounding jungle.
A crack army unit, a police air unit, sniffer dogs and a squad of
legendary Senoi Praaq trackers followed in pursuit, but after 10 days of
searching, they called it quits. Nevertheless, the police managed to score
against the rest of Gang 13, apprehending and killing almost all of them.
- Six months later, Mat was again
detected, this time in Gemas, Negeri Sembilan, where he was meeting with
Shukri Husain, a remaining Gang 13 member who was in hiding. Both managed
to escape the police-surrounded premises in a hail of bullets. But later,
Mat beat Shukri up, suspecting him of having ratted him out. Before he
could be executed by Mat, Shukri escaped and made a beeline for the
police, and then he really did spill the beans.
- The following month, thanks to
Shukri, police trailed Mat to a hut in a remote Felcra village in Pendang,
Kedah where a VAT69 anti-terror unit, supported by paramilitary
police, stormed Mat’s hideout – who retaliated with bullets from
his Colt .45 and S&W .22 revolver. In spite of his Rambo bravura,
Mat Komando was shot to death in the encounter. He was 37 years old.
