Mona Fandey’s pop career never took off, so she and her husband reinvented themselves as sought after bomohs, trading in talismans and black magic for wealthy clients chasing power. In 1993 a state politician named Mazlan Idris paid them a fortune for a talisman said to once belong to an Indonesian president, convinced it would carry him to higher office. Instead he was led to a house for a ritual cleansing, told to lie down and wait for a mysterious voice to speak, and never left alive.
Their assistant admitted striking the fatal blow with an axe, claiming he was following orders. Mazlan’s body was cut into eighteen pieces and buried under cement, while Mona spent the following days on a cash fuelled shopping spree, a new Mercedes among the purchases. At trial she arrived each day in bright, theatrical outfits, smiling for photographers as though finally enjoying the fame her singing career never gave her. All three were convicted and sentenced to death.
Mona, her husband and their assistant were hanged together at Kajang Prison near Kuala Lumpur on this day in 2001. Prison officials said the trio showed no remorse, and Mona reportedly smiled on the gallows and declared, “I will never die.”
![Shaman or bomoh in Malay. A bomoh is a Malay shaman and traditional medicine practitioner. [1] The term is used mainly in Malaysia and parts of Sumatra, whereas most Indonesians use the word dukun. | ID 113690847 © Syed Mohd Badril Hisham Syed Abdul Khalid | Dreamstime.com](https://darkstories.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/malay-bomoh-shaman-traditional-healer.jpg "ID 113690847 © Syed Mohd Badril Hisham Syed Abdul Khalid | Dreamstime.com")
