Reader's entry: How a Dutch diplomat exposed a serial killer in Thailand

A Dutch diplomat in Thailand who goes on the hunt for an Asian serial killer. It could just be the plot of Lung Jan sequel to 'City of Angels'[1]. But this is not fiction, it is a true story from the 70s. From the beginning of April on Netflix (and already at the BBC).

Herman Knippenberg, 'Knip' to friends, started in 1975 as a diplomat in Bangkok. When he has only just started there, in early February 1976 he hears about the disappearance of two Dutch tourists: Henricus 'Henk' Bintanja and Cornelia 'Cocky' Hemker. Not much later, a Belgian colleague tells him about a brawl, over the price of a Balinese dancer, between a Belgian embassy employee and a 'discreet type' in a nightclub. The remarkable thing, says the Belgian, was that this man turned out to have two Dutch passports. Maybe from the missing couple?

Then two charred bodies are brought to the Australian embassy, ​​which the police suspect are missing Australian backpackers. But Knippenberg does not trust it and contacts his Australian colleague. And then he learns that the presumed victims have reported themselves to the embassy just the day before. For Knippenberg this was the go-ahead to start his own investigation. He requests the dental records of Henk and Cocky from the Netherlands and calls in Dr. Twijnstra, a Dutch doctor working at the Bangkok Adventist Hospital. Based on dental data, she is able to identify the two victims as the missing Dutchmen.

Henk and Cocky turned out to have been burnt alive, a great shock for Knippenberg. Filled with horror at the act, he decides to start a search for the perpetrator himself. He starts by interrogating the Belgian diplomat who was previously involved in the brawl over the dancer. Knippenberg quickly concludes that at least 10, but probably 12 or more victims were made by the same killer, Charles Sobhraj, nicknamed The Serpent. Knippenberg goes to the Thai police with his findings at the beginning of March, but the commissioner tells him that he has little time for this case, because the police are too busy with a series of political murders. These are turbulent times in Thailand, which eventually resulted in a military coup[2]. Knippenberg then decides to investigate further himself. He follows Sobhraj and builds a case against him. Finally he is arrested in India at the end of 1976 and disappears behind bars for 20 years.

After his release, Sobhraj moves to Paris where he lives on the income he gets for interviews, books, documentaries and film scripts about his life. When he travels to Nepal in 2003, he is arrested again. There appears to be an arrest warrant still outstanding for two murders he committed there. He is sentenced to life imprisonment, which he is still serving.

'The Serpent', the true story of an Asian serial killer with a Dutch touch, can be seen on Netflix from April 2[3] and already at the with the BBC[4].

Listen to the interview with Herman Knippenberg in 'With a view to tomorrow'[5] from February 19, 2021. And watch the official trailer[6] of the series on YouTube. Also read it again blog of ambassador Kees Rade[7] in which he cites the visit of the BBC and Netflix.

Submitted by Peter

[1] https://www.thailandblog.nl/category/cultuur/boeken/stad-der-engelen-een-moordverhaal/

[2] https://www.thailandblog.nl/achtergrond/6-oktober-1976-massamoord-thammasaat-universiteit/

[3] https://www.netflix.com/nl/title/80206099

[4] https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p08zh4ts

[5] https://www.nporadio1.nl/geschiedenis/29763-hoe-de-nederlandse-herman-knippenberg-een-seriemoordenaar-ontmaskerde

[6] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FX1nVZukm70

[7] https://www.thailandblog.nl/expats-en-pensionado/juli-blog-ambassadeur-kees-rade-10/