Southeast Asia's Serial Killers (part seven): The three faces of Ryan, the "Smiling Serial Killer"

Have a look at Very Idham Henyansyah, aka Ryan, aka The Smiling (or Singing) serial killer. These three pictures illustrate the mind of a murderer who shook Indonesia in 2008 and still creates debate and talk among the population and in the media.

Ryan, the seducer

Ryan, the guiltless

Ryan, the angry

On July 12, 2008, mysterious bags containing a head, a torso and other body parts were found in the streets of Jakarta. The autopsy revealed these body parts belonged to Heri Santoso, a 40 year old businessman. In only a few days, the police was able to link the murder to a man called Ryan, and decided to arrest him. Ryan confessed quickly to the murder. What was supposed to be an easy case to close rapidly transformed in one of the most infamous and most mediatized murder case in Indonesian history.

Indeed, in addition to confessing to Heri Santoso's murder, Ryan also confessed to another 10 murders he committed earlier in his life, when he was still living in his hometown, which put his victim count to 11.

Ryan was born and raised in Jombang, a religious town where most of the people live from agriculture. He had poor relations with his siblings and his parents, and mostly kept to himself. Still today he pretends that he witnessed his parents living their affairs in the family house, and that his older sister was forced to marry a middle aged man that also happened to be the mother's boyfriend. But his parents deny these accusations, stating that Ryan started showing signs of mental distress at age 10. None of Ryan's accusations have been proven until now, and it is in the debate whether he really witnessed his parents having extra-marital relationships in front of him or not. But one thing is sure, is that very early on, Ryan grew increasingly violent, and was also very introverted, having no one to turn to when in need to express his feelings or the emotions he was experiencing.

The fact that he was homosexual and had more soft and feminine features surely did not help. School was the only place where he felt himself and comfortable, but even there he was rejected because he was more "girly" than the other boys. He was a very good student, with good grades and good behavior. But even if he got accepted later on in a faculty of medicine, he had to renounce to his project due to a lack of money and financing.

At the same time, he met a religious leader (who was also an unmarried young man at the time) and Ryan faced another blow when this man entered in a heterosexual marriage. This event certainly increased his frustration and anger to a boiling level, and became the trigger to his future killings. He would kill his first victims within a year of their separation. In only on few months, he would bury 10 victims in his backyard, most of them men aged 24 to 34, and a woman with her 3 year old daughter.

Ryan was diagnosed  as a sociopath with anti-social personality disorder, as he was charming, manipulative (by using a combination of intimidation and sexual seduction), and guiltless. To this diagnosis, I would also add that he presented a certain number of characteristics of a narcissistic personality disorder. I don't know if he believed he was better than the others, or if he fantasized about power, success or attractiveness. But he certainly enjoyed the notoriety that his actions, his book and album gave him, and, when interviewed, showed signs of pride saying that his actions had some positive effects on the people, and might help society change. He definitely shows signs that he thinks he is special, and almost that society should thank him for killing his victims as his actions point out society's dysfunctions.

An other reason for me to think he is narcissistic lies in the center of the debate around his case. He pretended from the start that he killed all these people because they were pressuring him for sex, and would then use hurtful words.

"Zacky and Aksony (2 of the victims) did not only strike me with hurtful words, but their hands groped my vital organs (sex) so that I would date them. I hated their acts. Especially when my homosexuality was used as a reason for them to satiate their lust"

"Most of the victims were gay men like me. They made me feel cheap. I got angry, we fought and I accidentally killed them"

"Not all gay men are promiscuous. Love is very important to me. It makes me furious when people say there's no such thing as loyalty in the gay world"

Now it is not uncommon for men in Southeast Asian to entertain sexual relationships with other men, even when they claim to be heterosexual. At the same time, it happens often, especially in the Muslim communities, that gay men live out gay relationships during their early adulthood, but when the family pressure to get married gets too strong, suppress their homosexuality to become an exemplar Muslim husband and son. But I seems a bit suspicious to me that the same pattern, especially like this one, would repeat itself 11 times other than in his mind and fantasy.

The reality is that we will never know if Ryan was really involved in a relationship with the religious leader, and really was, as he pretends, the victim of sexual advances of his victims, who started being demeaning to his refusal to have a sexual relationship with them. According to Ryan, he killed Santoso after he offered Ryan money and a car to have sex with his boyfriend. Unfortunately, we will never hear the other side of the story.

Do you want my opinion? I think that his claims might be far from what really happened. We have to consider a certain number of elements:

- according to him, it was often jealousy or the unwanted romantic overtures of others that drove him to kill. I have never heard of a serial killer who killed people because they wanted to date him or asked him for sexual relations. However, a more common reason, which makes more sense to me considering Ryan's personality, could be that he was the one who came on to his victims for sex, but got frustrated and angry when his victims would reject him.

- take the murder of Grady Adams, a witness testified he saw Ryan the next day wearing Grady Adam's tee-shirt... this is something you do when you like the person, not because you hate them. I cannot find any other reason to this, especially as Ryan specifically said he had no interest in his victim's belongings, and that he would bury them with the bodies. So he was not wearing Grady's tee-shirt as a trophy, but more as a sign of belonging, to show off and prove that they were having an intimate relationship.

- in a way he reminds me of Aileen Wuornos, who also pretended to the last day that she killed her victims in self defense. I think she really was convinced of it, shoving the real motive of her crimes deep into her unconscious. In Ryan's case, he probably tried to give himself more credit and notoriety by trying to portray himself more like a victim, not being able to cope with the reality of his actions. "It's about disappointments in my life. I'm tired of the shackles in my life, tired of the society I live in, a society full of strict rules. I want to be myself. I want to be the best in my life". A difference though is that Aileen Wuornos, mostly because of her erratic behavior throughout the trial, was not able to convince anyone. Ryan, during his trial, in a way succeeded in manipulating the public opinion (else he would not have gotten a record and book deal) in believing that he committed his crimes because he was first and foremost a victim of society. Moreover, when a person feels like being the victim in most of the situations, it just tends to show the low self-esteem they suffer from.

- his violent behavior might originate from a very low self-esteem and self worth, for which he compensated by creating a new him who would fight to be able to be whoever he decides to be and do what ever he decides to do. But in a way he over-compensated as he did that with a total disregard for others and by expressing his frustration and anger through violent behavior. "It comes to not wanting to be put down and abused by others, and to fight for myself in whatever way I can".

Southeast Asia's Serial Killers (part six): The Killer Witch Doctor of Indonesia

Indonesia has this reputation of being the country in Southeast Asia where people are the most scare of being killed, injured or sick through the use of black magic. The government is even trying to pass a law that would consider the use of black magic illegal. "People guilty of using black magic to cause "someone's illness, death, mental or physical suffering" will face jail and financial fines. Even claiming to have the power to cast dark spells would become a criminal offence, and if the magic was performed for financial fain, the penalty would increase by one third. "White" magic would remain legal." (source: The Sydney Morning Herald, March 8, 2013 in the article "Push to make 'black magic' a crime in Indonesia by Michael Bachelard)

But what about people who kill to be granted "White" magic powers?

Ahmad Suradji was a cattle breeder, a well known witch-doctor (a dukun or healer) like his father, and a serial killer. Also named Nasib Datuk Kelewang or Datuk Maringgi (Datuk being an honorific title reserved to a community leader that deals with traditions and community affairs), he was trusted for guidance such as money, love and health.

Young women were believed to have been seeking his help in making their husbands or boyfriends faithful. But the father of one of these girls alerted the police after his daughter went to see him, and strangely disappeared. The police arrested Ahmad Surajdi on May 2nd, 1997, after bodies were discovered near his home on the outskirts of Medan, the capital of North Sumatra.

During his interrogation, he told the police that he had a dream in 1988 in which his father's ghost told him to kill 70 women and drink their saliva, so that he could become a mystic healer. He admitted killing 42 girls and women over a period of 11 years. The victims ranged from 11 to 30 years old.

He would lead them to a nearby sugarcane plantation, and bury them up to their waist as part of the ritual, while chanting and reciting incantations. He would then strangle them with a cable, and collect their saliva. He would finally bury them entirely with their heads facing his house, so that it would  give him extra powers.

His 3 wives - all sisters - were also arrested for assisting in the murders and helping to hide the bodies. One of them was tried as his accomplice.

Ahmad Suradji (10/01/1949 - 10/07/2008)

This story is as monstrous as it is interesting. If you are part of a magical community or practice magic, you know that there are different types of magic, and whether black, white or pink, the type of magic always reflects the ideas and motivations of the practitioner. It is the same with serial killers: most of the people who kill other people for magical powers always do it for raw power, immortality, to please the demons or Satan, so to say either for dark or purely selfish reasons. Here we have a man who commits the ultimate inhuman act and sin in every religion and even magical practice, to claim powers "of the light", as the powers to heal are definitely powers to do good.

So what happened? Unfortunately, I don't have enough elements (yes I know, again!) to really sort out what his unconscious motivations were. So the following analysis relates more my impressions than an empiric analysis of his criminal behavior.

Many of the sources that I read on the Internet about Ahmad Suradji like to claim that he suffered from a mental illness, and I even read that some psychiatrists thought so too. Well, I don't really think so as it makes no sense to me to kill people to gain powers to do good and be able to heal others. People are relying on the fact that he had a dream about his father who told him to kill.

- The fact that he acted on what the ghost of his father told him in dream could indicate that he is (according to the Holmes, Holmes and DeBurger classification of serial killers) a visionary serial killer, killing at the command of hallucinated external or internal voices or visions that they experience. But many criteria don't fit his profile:

- they leave behind chaotic crime scenes (his murders were highly ritualistic, organized as he buried his victims)

- they often leave behind an abundance of physical evidence (there was no evidence as he was killing women for 11 years without even raising suspicion)

- their victims seem to fit no comprehensible pattern (he was very selective of his victims in terms of gender, vulnerability and even according to the fact that most of them were to ashamed to tell their families and friends they were going to see a witch-doctor)

- because mental illnesses such as schizophrenia often manifest in late adolescence or early adulthood, visionary killers are often young ( he was 39 when he started killing)

- there is no clear method or motive to their crimes (he killed in a very ritualistic manner, and the motive seems to be recurrent)

-the second way to analyze would be to just have a look at the crimes. So what do we know?

- he kills in a very ritualistic way, following the same MO and even using the same ritualistic way to dispose of the victims, posing them in their graves (naked and facing his house)

- he would use the same method to kill his victims, strangling them with a cable after burying them up to their waist

- he would rely on his position as datuk and the charisma of being a witch-doctor to attract his victims and lure them to their death

- his victims are selected according to very precise criteria (all women, most of them prostitutes, who would not lead the authorities to him as they haven't told anybody about their visit at his home)

- he seems to be highly controlled and controlling, as he killed for 11 years with the help of his 3 wives without raising any suspicion

So I don't think that Ahmad Suradji was mentally ill and killed women to gain magical and healing powers after his father's ghost came to him in a dream and told him to do so. At the contrary, I believe that he was in total control of what he was doing, and after carefully selecting his victims, he would find pleasure in following a strict ritual where he could derive pleasure in rendering his victims helpless (even with their own consent) and enjoy playing god by watching them die by his own hands. For me, he is an organized psychopath who took pleasure in the power and control he had on his victims. Even the fact that he would claim that he killed after his father told him in a dream could be interpreted as a way to use his charisma to gain more popularity and media coverage, which also points towards a highly organized and intelligent serial killer with an above average sense of greatness.

Southeast Asia's Serial Killers (part five): Vietnam's Black Widow

Le Thanh Van is a 48 year old woman who confessed to poisoning 13 people between 1998 and 2001, using cyanide. The victims included her mother-in-law and brother-in-law as well as her foster mother, acquaintances and lovers.

Her boyfriend, who is 20 years younger than her, was accused to help her during her crime spree.

The main motive was to steal her victim's possessions. She took all her victims to the hospital after administering the poison in an attempt to cover up her involvement. After they died, she faked their wills and other documents to steal their possessions, estimated at a total of 300 million Dong (around 20,000 USD).

Southeast Asia's Serial Killers (part four): Bekuni aka "Babeh" in Indonesia

Baekuni was a street vendor who pushed his cart through the streets of Jakarta selling snacks, drinks and cigarettes. The 48 year old man had a special relationship with the street kids, who called him "Babe" (pronounced bar-bay), an affectionate name for "dad". His killings evolved in three stages:

- first, he would give shelter to homeless kids, without molesting them

- then he would lure them to his home, sodomize and strangle them, or strangle them first and then sodomize them, then dump their bodies

- later he would start decapitate and mutilate them

He got caught after changing his victimology, and attacked his neighbor, the 9 year old Ardiansyah. The boy's mother knew her son had been spending time at his house in the months preceding the boy's disappearance. Baekuni was arrested days after the severed head and several body parts of the boy were found in a plastic bag in the nearby river.

In police custody, he confessed to murdering 14 boys aged 6 to 12.

Southeast Asia's Serial Killers (part three): Somkid Phumphuang aka "Thailand's Jack the Ripper"

After the early death of his parents, Somkid Phumphuang was raised by his uncle, Kling Kinkaew. His uncle later admitted to the police that Somkid had always been a hot-tempered troublemaker. Indeed, very early, Somkid decided to lead a life of crime, getting thrown out of school for theft.

After being kicked out of school, he found work in a wood factory, but again was fired for stealing money. Later, he framed a local businessman, giving a false testimony in court, which resulted in the businessman being jailed for six years, and swearing he would have Somkid killed at his release.

He also got involved in drugs and weapons trading in the Northeast part of Thailand (Easarn). He created himself many aliases, such as Daeng Phumpuang, Suwat Chanarong, Suchart Kingkaew, Naron Nilnet.

But his criminal career came to the extreme between January and June 2005, as he killed 5 women around the country. He had a penchant for staying in large hotels on his itinerant travels. He would then attract women to his room, where he would strangle them.

Warunee Phimphabut
Warunee, a 25-year-old lounge singer, was killed at a hotel in Mukdahan province on January 30.

Phongphan Sabchai

Phongphan, a 34-year-old masseuse, was killed in Lampang on June 2.

Patcharee Amatanirum

Patcharee, a 38-year-old singer was killed in Trang on June 11.

Porntawan Pungkhabut
Porntawan, a masseuse, was killed in a room of the Charoensri Grand Royal Hotel in Muang district of Udon Thani on June 18.

Sompong Pimpornpirom
Sompong, a 36-year-old masseuse, was killed in Buri Ram on June 20.

Soon after his last murder, he was successfully apprehended by the police, and after three trials, sentenced to death on March 2, 2010.

Dubbed "Thailand's Jack The Ripper", Somkid had nothing from the serial killer that haunted the streets of London. The only element that would fit is the victimology, praying on young women ready to sell their bodies for money. I do think that what might have motivated Somkid to kill was simply greed, and recognition. In a country like Thailand, money is a sign of power and when you have money, almost anything is possible, even sometimes being above the law. Sex is a way for many people to get access to money, especially in Thailand.

The loss of his parents obviously resulted for Somkid in a loss of identity, of self worth (thus the need to create new identities) but also a loss of sense of belonging. Thailand is a country where, looking from the outside, family seems to be everything. But if you look a bit more closely, the sense of duty is often stronger than the real commitment. It is possible that even though Somkid was raised by his uncle, he did not feel that he belonged or was accepted by his "new" family.

His criminal career depicts someone:

- who is hot-tempered

- who is not patient, and might even gets frustrated easily when he doesn't get what he wants

- who is intelligent enough to cross a businessman and send him to jail

- who is manipulative and able to successfully give a false testimony in court

- who does not have empathy for other people and puts his own needs before anybody else's

- who is not afraid by authority, and even thinks he is above the law (he did not pay much attention not to get caught or to cover his tracks), giving himself a sense of greatness

- who needs to satisfy his needs immediately, without caring about the consequences

These are all elements that correspond to a psychopathic personality. So I can easily say that he did not start killing because of arguments about the fees, but because he wanted sex from these women, but did not feel he had to pay for it. At the same time, he was not patient enough to try to find women who would have sex with him willingly. Moreover, killing was making him feel powerful and in control, which he wasn't as a kid.

The last element I would like to address here is the nickname he was given: "Thailand's Jack the Ripper".

- he is not a ripper as he did not mutilate the victim's bodies (not that I know of)

- his MO and signature are completely different. The only common element could be the victimology (prostitutes), but even there, the victims were not selected for the same reasons

- his motives were different (Somkid was all about taking from the victims, and Jack the Ripper was about punishing)

- following the FBI classification of serial killers, Somkid can be classified as an organized serial killer, whereas Jack the Ripper was disorganized

- Somkid has a personality disorder, giving him full responsibility for his actions (he knew what he was doing and his murders were more or less premeditated), whereas Jack the Ripper had a mental disorder

I really think that this nickname is a really bad one, as not only there is no similar element between the two killers, but also because it is giving him a fame and power he doesn't deserve.

Southeast Asia's Serial Killers (part two): Toa Payoh Ritual Murders in Singapore

On January 25, 1981, a 9 year old girl was found dead next to the lift of a block of flats in the Toa Payoh district of Singapore. Two weeks later, a 10 year old boy was found nearby. After the second murder, the police could follow a blood trail all the way to the apartment of Adrian Lim.

Adrian Lim claimed to be a medium who tricked women into believing he had supernatural powers. His favorite targets were bar girls, dance hostesses and prostitutes, especially the very vulnerable and troubled girls. He was promising them cures, beauty and good fortune in exchange of money and sexual services. His MO (Modus Operandi) was very well prepared: he would insert a blackened needle in an egg before the victims arrived, then pass the egg over them while chanting, before asking them to crack the egg open. He would then tell his victims that the black needle was the proof that all the problems were caused by evil spirits. Lim promised to help them get rid of the evil spirits in one of two ways: either through an electro-shock therapy (the same used on mental patients), or through a ritual massage and sexual intercourse in front of Phragann's idol.

Adrian Lim had two accomplices: Tan Mui Choo, one of these girls he liked to pray upon, and that he married, and Hoe Kah Hong, who became one of his "holy wives". He liked dominating his wife through beatings, threats and lies.

After abusing another victim, he was arrested and charged with rape. Frustrated that the police was still investigating, he decided to create a diversion. He then pretended to be possessed by the Goddess Kali and persuaded Tan and Hoe that the goddess required the lives of children to draw away the attention of the police and to bring vengeance on the women who was accusing him.

The children were lured by Hoe Kah Hong, were drugged and smothered with a pillow. Then the trio would drain their blood, drinking and smearing it on a portrait of Kali. After, they would drown the bodies and use the electro-shocks to make sure the victims were dead. Lim sexually assaulted the little girl before killing her.

After reading this, some of you might wonder why I am mentioning these murders as those of a serial killer, as there were only two victims. It is quite simple: in my opinion there were only two victims because they were caught after the second killing. Hadn't they been sloppy and been caught, more bodies of children would have turned up. Adrian Lim shows signs of psychopathy (according to the criteria of the Psychopathy Checklist Revised PCL-R created by psychologist Robert D. Hare): grandiose sense of self-worth, pathological lying, manipulative, lack of remorse or guilt, emotionally shallow, lack of empathy, failure to accept responsibility for his own actions, criminal versatility, many short term marital relationships, promiscuous sexual behavior. Of course, I agree that the little information available to me does not allow me to make definite conclusions, but even though he does not check every criteria, he certainly checks most of them.

 Adrian Lim

 Tan Mui Choo

 Hoe Kah Hong

 Newspaper extract

Southeast Asia's Serial Killers (part one): See Uey Sae Ung aka Si Oui

See Uey Sae Ung, aka Si Oui, was a Chinese immigrant who moved to Thailand in 1944. He was a former soldier, fighting against the Japanese during World War II. Some people claim that his lust for human flesh started on the battlefields, as commanders told the troops to eat the livers of enemy soldiers to take on their strength and power.

Many civilizations throughout time thought that the liver was the center of life of the body and was praised for its regenerative properties. Therefore it is believed that eating the livers of enemies would not only dehumanize them, but also enable the soldiers to absorb their strength.

Si Oui is believed to have raped, and suffocated 5 to 8 male children in the vicinity of Bangkok during the 1950's. He then ate their hearts and livers. His goal was to become stronger, healthier, even immortal.

He was caught in the act by a young boy's father as he was burning one of the bodies, and executed.

After his autopsy, his corpse was preserved and can still be seen today in the Songkran Niyomsane Museum of Forensic Medicine in Bangkok. Over the years, he has become the Thai Bogeyman, parents scaring their children by telling them that if they don't behave, his ghost would come and hunt them.