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True Crimes Of Asia

True Crimes Of Asia

The Straits Times

Synopsis: A 6-part series from April till September 2023, exploring recent real crimes that gripped, horrified and laid bare the issues that afflicted societies in Asia. 

Podcasters: Chang May Choon, Tan Tam Mei, Jean Iau, Linda Yulisman, Arlina Arshad, Yip Wai Yee and Walter Sim

Produced and edited by: Fa'izah Sani, Teo Tong Kai, Hadyu Rahim and Eden Soh

Executive Producers: Ernest Luis, Tan Tam Mei

A podcast by The Straits Times, SPH Media.

8 - S1E1: Explore The Straits Times’ podcasts
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  • 8 - S1E1: Explore The Straits Times’ podcasts

    Listen to our news commentary podcasts on the go every week.

    Podcasts have become part of the global media landscape these days. The audio-on-demand format allows many listeners to often do other chores or hobbies, while hearing the shows in the background over headphones or bluetooth speakers

    Almost every weekday, check out our discussions on Singapore current affairs and social issues, geopolitics through an Asian lens, health, climate change, personal finance and career.

    Follow our shows on your favourite audio apps Apple Podcasts, Spotify or even ST’s app, which has a dedicated podcast player section.

    Trailer narrated by: Podcast editor Ernest Luis (ernest@sph.com.sg); edited by: Elsa Goh

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    Discover more ST podcast channels:

    'All-in-one' ST Podcasts channel: https://str.sg/wvz7

    The Usual Place: https://str.sg/wEr7u

    Asian Insider: https://str.sg/JWa7

    Headstart On Record: https://str.sg/wB2m

    Green Pulse: https://str.sg/JWaf

    Health Check: https://str.sg/JWaN

    In Your Opinion: https://str.sg/w7Qt

    Wheel Insights: https://str.sg/iTtE

    ST Podcasts website: https://www.straitstimes.com/st-podcasts

    (*New) The Usual Place Podcast YouTube: https://str.sg/theusualplacepodcast

    Feedback to: podcast@sph.com.sg

    SPH Awedio app: https://www.awedio.sg

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    Special edition series:

    Green Trails (4 eps): https://str.sg/bMyx

    This series clinched the gold award for Best Podcast at the Digital Media Awards Asia 2025 on April 23, organised by the World Association of News Publishers (Wan-Ifra).

    True Crimes Of Asia (6 eps): https://str.sg/i44T

    This series clinched the gold award for Best Podcast at the Digital Media Awards Asia 2024 in April, and third place for Best Podcast at the Digital Media Awards Worldwide 2024, both organised by Wan-Ifra.

    The Unsolved Mysteries of South-east Asia (5 eps): https://str.sg/wuZ2

    This series also won The Best Podcast/Digital Audio Project category at the 2022 Digital Media Awards Asia, organised by Wan-Ifra.

    Music Lab: https://str.sg/w9TX

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    Get The Straits Times' app, which has a dedicated podcast player section:

    The App Store: https://str.sg/icyB

    Google Play: https://str.sg/icyX

    #stpodcasttr

    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    Thu, 19 Jun 2025
  • 7 - S1E6: Japan: Killer prowled Twitter for the suicidal

    Journey into the darkest corners of the internet, where a deadly connection was forged in 140 characters or less.

    Synopsis (headphones recommended): A special edition 6-part series by The Straits Times in Singapore, exploring recent real crimes that gripped, horrified and laid bare the issues that afflicted societies in Asia. This is the sixth and final episode of True Crimes Of Asia, a special edition podcast series that started on April 25, 2023.

    Warning: This podcast is an audio documentary of a real crime case which may be troubling and upsetting to certain listeners. This episode specifically covers themes of suicide and details of death and traumatic sexual acts. Listener discretion is advised, and helplines for mental well-being are provided further below.

    Nine heads and 240 bones were found in a tiny apartment just outside Tokyo on Halloween in 2017, in one of Japan's most shocking crimes in history.

    Takahiro Shiraishi baited suicidal victims on Twitter who wanted to die but lacked the courage to end their own lives.

    He posed as an expert in hanging but his real motives were sex and money.

    Shiraishi has been sentenced to death – by hanging – and is now in a maximum-security prison. The case had sparked conversations about social media scrutiny and suicide in Japan.

    ST's Japan correspondent Walter Sim narrates this podcast.

    Highlights (click/tap above):

    1:16 Shiraishi's motives and modus operandi

    5:47 What led Shiraishi down this path

    9:28 Shiraishi meets his first victim

    16:43 Justice catches up with Shiraishi 

    22:19 Social implications of Shiraishi's crimes, and how not much has changed since then

    Interviews & narration by: Walter Sim

    Executive Producers: Ernest Luis (ernest@sph.com.sg) and Tan Tam Mei (tammei@sph.com.sg)

    Podcast Producers: Eden Soh and Fa’izah Sani

    Voiceovers: Paxton Pang, Li Yi, Aqil Hamzah, Hadyu Rahim, David Sun, Edeh Soh, Mubin Saadat

    Copy editor: Choo Li Meng

    Reference for research: “Report: Nine Murders in Zama - Why were victims drawn to it?” by Tetsuya Shibui (『ルポ 座間９人殺害事件～被害者はなぜ引き寄せられたのか～』)

    MENTAL WELL-BEING

    Institute of Mental Health’s Mental Health Helpline: 6389-2222 (24 hours) Samaritans of Singapore: 1800-221-4444 (24 hours) /1-767 (24 hours) Singapore Association for Mental Health: 1800-283-7019 Silver Ribbon Singapore: 6386-1928 Tinkle Friend: 1800-274-4788  Chat, Centre of Excellence for Youth Mental Health: 6493-6500/1 

    COUNSELLING

    TOUCHline (Counselling): 1800-377-2252 TOUCH Care Line (for seniors, caregivers): 6804-6555 Care Corner Counselling Centre: 6353-1180 Counselling and Care Centre: 6536-6366

    ONLINE RESOURCES

    mindline.sg eC2.sg tinklefriend.sg chat.mentalhealth.sg carey.carecorner.org.sg (for those aged 13 to 25) limitless.sg/talk (for those aged 12 to 25) Aware’s Sexual Assault Care Centre: 6779-0282 (weekdays, 10am to 6pm)

    Follow ST’s True Crimes Of Asia Podcast:

    Channel: https://str.sg/i44T

    Apple Podcasts: https://str.sg/i44q

    Spotify: https://str.sg/i44c

    SPH Awedio app: https://www.awedio.sg/

    Website: http://str.sg/stpodcasts

    Feedback to: podcast@sph.com.sg

    Read Walter Sim's articles: https://str.sg/ws6J 

    ---

    Follow more ST podcast channels:

    All-in-one ST Podcasts channel: https://str.sg/wvz7

    ST Podcasts website: http://str.sg/stpodcasts

    The Usual Place Podcast YouTube: https://str.sg/4Vwsa

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    Get The Straits Times app, which has a dedicated podcast player section:

    The App Store: https://str.sg/icyB

    Google Play: https://str.sg/icyX

    ---

    #truecrimes

    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    Mon, 25 Sep 2023
  • 6 - S1E5: Taiwan: Deadly stabbing spree on metro shocks island of 23 million

    Even the perpetrator's own parents asked for their son to be put to death.

    Synopsis (headphones recommended): A special edition 6-part series by The Straits Times in Singapore, exploring recent real crimes that gripped, horrified and laid bare the issues that afflicted societies in Asia. Episodes drop every fourth Tuesday of the month from April 25, 2023.

    Warning: This podcast is an audio documentary of a real crime case which may be troubling and upsetting to certain listeners. Listener discretion is advised.

    A random stabbing spree in a Taipei metro in 2014 resulted in four dead and 24 injured. There was no apparent motive for the shocking killing, and the assailant Cheng Chieh displayed no remorse.

    Cheng’s childhood, which was fraught with isolation, his public threats against classmates and plans to kill detailed on his blog, also ignited debate about troubled youth and gaps in mental health care. This case also restarted conversations about capital punishment in Taiwan.

    ST’s Taiwan correspondent Yip Wai Yee interviews and narrates this podcast.

    Highlights (click/tap above):

    4:49 Cheng's mental state the subject of intense legal dispute

    6:28 How Cheng planned his stabbing spree

    11:23 He would not have spared anyone, even if his parents had been on board the metro train

    14:40 Cheng executed on May 10, 2016; political motivations behind the extraordinary speediness of his execution?

    21:51 Why Taiwanese often choose to ignore social problems; health ministry establishes new department dedicated to mental health programmes in May 2022

    Interviews & narration by: Yip Wai Yee

    Executive Producers: Ernest Luis (ernest@sph.com.sg) and Tan Tam Mei (tammei@sph.com.sg)

    Podcast Producers: Eden Soh & Fa'izah Sani

    Voiceovers: Fa'izah Sani, Eden Soh, Ang Qing, Samuel Devaraj, Jeremy Au Yong, Jean Iau, Teo Tong Kai, Lee Hup Kheng, Clara Chong, Lee Su Shyan

    Copy editor: Choo Li Meng

    Follow ST’s True Crimes Of Asia Podcast:

    Channel: https://str.sg/i44T

    Apple Podcasts: https://str.sg/i44q

    Spotify: https://str.sg/i44c

    SPH Awedio app: https://www.awedio.sg/

    Website: http://str.sg/stpodcasts

    Feedback to: podcast@sph.com.sg

    Read Yip Wai Yee's articles: https://str.sg/i5yX

    ---

    Follow more ST podcast channels:

    All-in-one ST Podcasts channel: https://str.sg/wvz7

    ST Podcasts website: http://str.sg/stpodcasts

    The Usual Place Podcast YouTube: https://str.sg/4Vwsa

    ---

    Get The Straits Times app, which has a dedicated podcast player section:

    The App Store: https://str.sg/icyB

    Google Play: https://str.sg/icyX

    ---

    #truecrimes

    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    Mon, 21 Aug 2023
  • 5 - S1E4: Indonesia: Masked ‘ninjas’ and mass murders of suspected sorcerers

    How the gruesome 1998 incidents paved the way for black magic to be criminalised last year in 2022, in the predominantly Muslim country of Indonesia.

    Synopsis (headphones recommended): A special edition 6-part series by The Straits Times in Singapore, exploring recent real crimes that gripped, horrified and laid bare the issues that afflicted societies in Asia. Episodes drop every fourth Tuesday of the month from April 25, 2023.

    Warning: This podcast is an audio documentary of a real crime case which may be troubling and upsetting to certain listeners. Listener discretion is advised.

    Sorcery is against Islamic teachings, but today, many in Indonesia still consult black magic practitioners for advice. In 1998, a series of killings by unknown masked 'ninjas', targeting suspected sorcerers in East Java, launched the community into a period of mass hysteria, violence and retaliation-attacks.

    The killings triggered discussions on the need and ways to regulate sorcery, to prevent similar instances and to stop people from taking the law into their own hands. The legal gap was finally plugged last year in 2022, when laws on sorcery were included in the revised Criminal Code passed by the Parliament.

    The government is also seeking to settle the case, along with 11 other human rights abuses, by non-judicial means.   

    ST’s Indonesia Bureau Chief Arlina Arshad narrates this podcast. The reporting and scripting for this episode was done by ST’s Indonesia Correspondent Linda Yulisman.

    Highlights (click/tap above):

    4:20 Why sorcery has long been part of Indonesia’s life and culture, even among the nation's notable figures

    10:05 From 1998 till 1999, a ferocious wave of hysteria spreads against purported black magic practitioners

    20:15 Larger motives behind attacks? Understanding Banyuwangi region's history and Indonesia’s period of political transition

    28:40 Were attacks likely carried out by trained assassins with links to the military?

    33:35 Why it took decades to criminalise witchcraft and sorcery in Indonesia

    Interviews by: Linda Yulisman (ylinda@sph.com.sg)

    Narrated by: Arlina Arshad (aarlina@sph.com.sg)

    Executive Producers: Ernest Luis (ernest@sph.com.sg) and Tan Tam Mei (tammei@sph.com.sg)

    Podcast Producers: Hadyu Rahim & Fa'izah Sani

    Voiceovers: Hairianto Diman, Deepanraj Ganesan, Wahyudi Soeriaatmadja, Dominic Nathan, Lee Nian Tjoe, Colin Tan, Eddino Abdul Hadi, Ernest Luis, Hadyu Rahim

    Copy editor: Choo Li Meng

    Follow ST’s True Crimes Of Asia Podcast:

    Channel: https://str.sg/i44T

    Apple Podcasts: https://str.sg/i44q

    Spotify: https://str.sg/i44c

    SPH Awedio app: https://www.awedio.sg/

    Website: http://str.sg/stpodcasts

    Feedback to: podcast@sph.com.sg

    Read Linda Yulisman's articles: https://str.sg/iif5

    Read Arlina Arshad's articles: https://str.sg/iifS

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    Follow more ST podcast channels:

    All-in-one ST Podcasts channel: https://str.sg/wvz7

    ST Podcasts website: http://str.sg/stpodcasts

    The Usual Place Podcast YouTube: https://str.sg/4Vwsa

    ---

    Get The Straits Times app, which has a dedicated podcast player section:

    The App Store: https://str.sg/icyB

    Google Play: https://str.sg/icyX

    ---

    #truecrimes

    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    Sun, 30 Jul 2023
  • 4 - S1E3: Singapore: Employers abuse Myanmar domestic worker to her death

    Since Ms Piang Ngaih Don’s death in 2016, a slew of measures have been introduced to stem domestic worker abuse.

    Synopsis (headphones recommended): A special edition 6-part series by The Straits Times in Singapore, exploring recent real crimes that gripped, horrified and laid bare the issues that afflicted societies in Asia. Episodes drop every fourth Tuesday of the month from April 25, 2023.

    Warning: This podcast is an audio documentary of a real crime case which may be troubling and upsetting to certain listeners. Listener discretion is advised.

    In 2016, the abuse and eventual death of a young Myanmar domestic worker led to shock and an outpouring of grief in Singapore.

    Ms Piang Ngaih Don left her hometown in Chin State, Myanmar, to work for Gaiyathiri Murugayan and her then-husband and suspended police officer Kevin Chelvam in 2015.

    The details and extent of her torture, at the hands of Gaiyathiri and her mother Prema S. Naraynasamy, brought about heightened checks and health screenings for domestic workers in Singapore. Yet activists say more can be done.

    ST's Singapore journalist Jean Iau interviews and narrates this podcast.

    Highlights (click/tap above):

    4:23 "Their attitude is like animal attitude", says Mr Tin Maung Win who runs an NGO for migrant workers

    6:35 Verbal abuse turns physical: CCTV footage captures the assaults on Ms Piang Ngaih Don over the last 35 days of her life

    9:05 Chilling events the night before she died; Gaiyathiri and Prema now serving sentences

    15:25 Reactions from Ms Piang Ngaih Don’s family; hundreds take to the streets in Yangon to mourn her

    21:06 Revisiting the scene: A young neighbour recalls hearing shouting from Gaiyathiri's flat and avoiding her

    22:48 In February 2021, then-Manpower Minister Josephine Teo said Singapore "must do better"; Manpower Ministry spells out some measures introduced since 2021

    28:10 Should foreign domestic workers be given option to "live out", regardless of higher costs to employers? Ms Jaya Anil Kumar, senior research and advocacy manager at Human Organisation for Migration Economics (Home) believes so

    Interviews & narration by: Jean Iau (jeaniau@sph.com.sg)

    Executive Producers: Ernest Luis (ernest@sph.com.sg) and Tan Tam Mei (tammei@sph.com.sg)

    Podcast Producers: Hadyu Rahim & Fa'izah Sani

    Voiceovers: Leonie Teo, Vimalaraj Rajaratnam

    Copy editor: Choo Li Meng

    Audio clip of Ms Piang Ngaih Don's sister reproduced with permission from Al Jazeera (see full documentary - https://str.sg/iUQz)

    Follow ST’s True Crimes Of Asia Podcast:

    Channel: https://str.sg/i44T

    Apple Podcasts: https://str.sg/i44q

    Spotify: https://str.sg/i44c

    SPH Awedio app: https://www.awedio.sg/

    Website: http://str.sg/stpodcasts

    Feedback to: podcast@sph.com.sg

    Read Jean Iau's articles: https://str.sg/iUAz

    ---

    Follow more ST podcast channels:

    All-in-one ST Podcasts channel: https://str.sg/wvz7

    ST Podcasts website: http://str.sg/stpodcasts

    The Usual Place Podcast YouTube: https://str.sg/4Vwsa

    ---

    Get The Straits Times app, which has a dedicated podcast player section:

    The App Store: https://str.sg/icyB

    Google Play: https://str.sg/icyX

    ---

    #truecrimes

    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    Sun, 30 Jul 2023
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