Thailand’s bogeyman finally finds peace

By The Nation

 

 

Si Quey, Thailand’s legendary cannibal and serial killer, was finally laid to rest after spending 60 years on display in a Bangkok Museum.

 

 

His mummified body was removed from Siriraj Hospital’s museum to Wat Bang Praek Tai temple in Nonthaburi province on Thursday (July 23) and rites were scheduled to begin at 1pm.

 

 

Si Quey was sentenced to death on September 18, 1959, for allegedly murdering eight-year-old Somboon Boonyakan in Rayong.

 

He was caught trying to burn the boy’s corpse after allegedly removing his heart and liver.

 

 

He was also accused of killing five other children from different provinces, and his reported confession had the country horrified as he was quoted as saying that he liked the taste of children’s intestines and internal organs.

 

 

In fact, this case gave birth to Thailand’s very own bogeyman, and Thai parents are often heard telling naughty children “don’t… or Si Quey will come and eat you”.

 

 

Last year, however, a group of sympathisers launched a petition to give Si Quey his dignity and a proper funeral. The group also had Siriraj Hospital change the label above Si Quey’s mummified body from “Cannibal” to “Death Row Prisoner”.

 

Though no relatives have shown up to claim the body, Si Quey was finally able to rest in peace on Thursday.

 

Source: https://www.nationthailand.com/news/30391804

 

-- © Copyright The Nation Thailand 2020-07-23

 

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2 hours ago, webfact said:

Last year, however, a group of sympathisers launched a petition to give Si Quey his dignity and a proper funeral.

I'm sure the relatives of the murdered children has a different opinion.

 

They should have left him on display.

There are some interesting issues here. Si Quey reportedly confessed, but if this is the case he clearly had major mental issues. In an interview quoted in another paper, someone who knew him indicated that he didn't speak Thai. If you think the system is rigged against those who don't speak the language now in terms of being forced to sign papers (confessions) you can't read and not understanding court procedures, what must it have been like in 1958 where police would have been under enormous pressure for a conviction?

 

Moreover, Siriraj Hospital's display of his preserved corpse over the last 60 years is nothing short of disgusting. They justify it by saying that it was used to teach medical students, but what can students learn from a machine-gunned body sealed in a glass box? Like an old fashioned freak show, it was used as an attraction to lure people into their macabre museum. Guilty or not, may he finally rest in peace.

14 hours ago, rasmus5150 said:

I'm sure the relatives of the murdered children has a different opinion.

 

They should have left him on display.

 

There's been a push over the last several years from the Teochew community here that there was no evidence in the prosecution, and that he was just a scapegoat due to prejudice against foreigners (particularly Chinese immigrants).

 

There are two issues here: 1) miscarriage of justice based on racism, 2) ethics of putting a criminal's corpse on display. 

I'm guessing that you're just addressing the ethics issue: If that sick weirdo killed and ate children, then any show of disrespect is well-deserved.

But Si Quey's body was removed from the display because this was an obscene application of the law based on prejudice against Teochew people at the time (and against the mentally disabled). It wasn't mainly cuz people were thinking, "We should be nice, even to weirdo killers."

 

Prosecution of a minority, who would have imagined...

 

Check out the backstory and the movement on this to try clearing Si Quey's name. 

23 hours ago, webfact said:

Si Quey was finally able to rest in peace on Thursday.

i hope he won't rest in peace!

 

Since I am not Thai, I may misunderstand, but I think Thai Buddhist belief is that if your body is not cremated your soul cannot go on to the next stage after death. That's either rebirth and the following working out of karma, or judgement by Yamabaan, ruler of Hell, and punishment according to his decision. I prefer to think of karma, a natural law, rather than judgement by capricious gods (or demigods, not sure exactly what Yamabaan's actual status is). So, if I understand correctly, keeping his body on display is preventing his spirit (or whatever it is that is reborn) from suffering the punishment he deserves.