Si Ouey

{{Short description|Thai gardener accused of being a serial killer}}

{{Infobox criminal

| name = Si Ouey

| image_name = Si Quey Sae-Ung.jpeg

| image_size =

| image_caption = Undated photo of Si Ouey

| birth_name = Huang Lihui

| birth_date = {{circa|1927}}

| birth_place = Shantou, Guangdong, China

| death_date = 16 September 1959 (aged 31)

| death_place = Bang Kwang Central Prison, Nonthaburi province, Thailand

| death_cause = Execution by gunfire

| occupation = Gardener

| alias = Si Quey
Si Uey Sae-Ung

| resting_place = Wat Bang Phraek Tai Temple

| apprehended = {{circa}} 1958

| conviction = Murder
(Guilt highly disputed.){{cite web|title=Serial child killer, cannibal, bogeyman – or scapegoat?|work=Inkstone |url=https://amp.inkstonenews.com/china/was-thailands-serial-child-killer-and-cannibal-si-quey-innocent-scapegoat/article/3014520}}{{cite web|title=JUSTICE AT LAST? MUSEUM AMENDS DISPLAY OF ICONIC 'CANNIBAL'|date=31 May 2019|url=https://www.khaosodenglish.com/news/crimecourtscalamity/2019/05/31/justice-at-last-museum-amends-display-of-iconic-cannibal/}}{{cite web|title=Thailand cremates Chinese immigrant serial killer Si Quey after body displayed for decades|date=23 July 2020|url=https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3094436/thailand-cremates-chinese-immigrant-serial-killer-si-ouey}}

| conviction_penalty = Death

| conviction_status = {{Plainlist|

Executed
({{start date and age|df=yes|1959|09|16}})

}}

Si Ouey or Si Uey Sae-Ung ({{langx|th|ซีอุย แซ่อึ้ง}}, {{RTGS|Si-ui Sae-Ueng}}, {{IPA|th|sīː.ūj sɛ̂ː.ɯ̂ŋ}}), commonly spelled Si Quey and whose actual name was Huang Lihui ({{lang-zh|t=黃利輝|p=Huáng Lìhuī}}), was a Sino-Thai gardener who became best known as a convicted serial killer. Si Ouey was accused of killing several children throughout the 1950s before being arrested in 1958 and executed in 1959. According to some sources, Si Ouey was allegedly the first serial killer in the history of modern Thailand. Many believe him to be innocent of the charges and a victim of anti-Chinese sentiment in 20th-century Thailand.{{cite web|title=Serial child killer, cannibal, bogeyman – or scapegoat?|work=Inkstone |url=https://amp.inkstonenews.com/china/was-thailands-serial-child-killer-and-cannibal-si-quey-innocent-scapegoat/article/3014520}}{{cite web|title=JUSTICE AT LAST? MUSEUM AMENDS DISPLAY OF ICONIC 'CANNIBAL'|date=31 May 2019|url=https://www.khaosodenglish.com/news/crimecourtscalamity/2019/05/31/justice-at-last-museum-amends-display-of-iconic-cannibal/}}{{cite web|title=Thailand cremates Chinese immigrant serial killer Si Quey after body displayed for decades|date=23 July 2020|url=https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3094436/thailand-cremates-chinese-immigrant-serial-killer-si-ouey}}

Biography

File:The Forensic Science Museum in Bangkok.jpg in 2006. It was taken down in 2019 due to discussion about his possible innocence.]]

Much of Si Ouey's history is unknown; the Thai Department of Corrections was never contacted by a family member, and as of 2020 Si Ouey was considered stateless. One source states that Si Ouey was born in Shantou, China in 1927, and that he later fought during the Second Sino-Japanese War. According to Thai government records, Si Ouey engaged in cannibalism during the war, eating parts of his fellow soldiers when supplies ran low during a siege.{{Cite news|first=Tibor |last=Krausz |date=2019-06-14|title=Could serial child killer and cannibal Si Quey, a bogeyman for Thai children, have been an innocent scapegoat?|url=https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3014200/could-serial-child-killer-and-cannibal-si-quey-bogeyman|access-date=2020-09-08|work=South China Morning Post|language=en}} He emigrated to Thailand after the war. Today, it is generally agreed that the cannibalism accusations against Si Ouey were false.{{cite web|title=Serial child killer, cannibal, bogeyman – or scapegoat?|work=Inkstone |url=https://amp.inkstonenews.com/china/was-thailands-serial-child-killer-and-cannibal-si-quey-innocent-scapegoat/article/3014520}}{{cite web|title=JUSTICE AT LAST? MUSEUM AMENDS DISPLAY OF ICONIC 'CANNIBAL'|date=31 May 2019|url=https://www.khaosodenglish.com/news/crimecourtscalamity/2019/05/31/justice-at-last-museum-amends-display-of-iconic-cannibal/}}{{cite web|title=Thailand cremates Chinese immigrant serial killer Si Quey after body displayed for decades|date=23 July 2020|url=https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3094436/thailand-cremates-chinese-immigrant-serial-killer-si-ouey}}

During the 1950s, Si Ouey worked in a number of menial roles (several sources describe him as a gardener) before allegedly beginning his killings. From 1954 to 1958, Si Ouey was accused of killing several (sources disagree on whether four, five,{{Cite web|date=2020-07-23|title=Si Quey, Exonerated of Cannibalism, is Laid to Rest (Photos)|url=https://www.khaosodenglish.com/news/crimecourtscalamity/2020/07/23/si-quey-exonerated-of-cannibalism-is-laid-to-rest-photos/|access-date=2020-09-08|website=Khaosod English|language=en-US}} or six) Thai children, allegedly disembowelling, boiling, and eating his victims. Active in Bangkok, Nakhon Pathom, and Rayong, Si Ouey was arrested (reportedly while attempting to burn a body){{Cite web|title=Mörder im Glaskasten: Thailand streitet über Leichnam im Museum|url=https://www.haz.de/Nachrichten/Panorama/Uebersicht/Moerder-im-Glaskasten-Thailand-streitet-ueber-Leichnam-im-Museum|access-date=2020-09-08|website=HAZ – Hannoversche Allgemeine|language=de}} by Thai police in 1958 after which he purportedly confessed to the murders. According to Thai records, Si Ouey confessed to police that he targeted children as they were easier to lure. He also allegedly admitted to enjoying the taste of human flesh but later denied being a cannibal.{{Cite web|last=Martinus |first=Danial |date=2020-07-21|title=A 'cannibal' who murdered seven kids is finally being cremated after more than 60 years|url=https://sea.mashable.com/culture/11590/this-mummified-cannibal-in-thailand-is-finally-being-cremated-after-more-than-60-years|access-date=2020-09-08|website=Mashable SEA|language=en-sg}} He was tried, sentenced to death, and executed by gunfire in 1959 at the age of 31. Si Ouey's remains were preserved and used for medical testing before being embalmed and put on display at Siriraj Medical Museum in Bangkok.{{Cite news|last=Laohong|first=King-oua |title=Cannibal killer Si Quey to be cremated|url=https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/1954675/cannibal-killer-si-quey-to-be-cremated|access-date=2020-09-08|work=Bangkok Post|date=21 July 2020 }}

Many have called into question his confession and trial.{{cite news |last1=Tassanee |first1=Vejpongsa |last2=Peck |first2=Grant |title=Thai serial killer cremated after decades as museum display |url=https://apnews.com/4ed226a1a7ae7d8a0b36b2d3c94368dd |accessdate=9 September 2020 |work=AP News |date=23 July 2020}} Several note that Si Ouey spoke no Thai and as such may not have given an accurate confession, and that he was forced to use a translator during his trial. Anti-Chinese, anti-communism, and anti-immigrant sentiment may have also played a role in Si Ouey's trial. A campaign by humanitarian activists successfully campaigned for Si Ouey's corpse to be removed from display in August 2019, and in July 2020, his remains were cremated at Wat Bang Phraek Tai temple in Nonthaburi province.{{Cite news|last= Laohong|first=King-oua|title=Serial killer Si Quey cremated|url=https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/1956391/serial-killer-si-quey-cremated|access-date=2020-09-12|work=Bangkok Post|date=23 July 2020 }}