‘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

Image credit: rilek1corner.com

• 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

• 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.

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