The Eerie East Podcast
The Eerie East Podcast
Parking Lot Disappearance turned Murder: Case of Canny Ong
If you've ever left your parking ticket in your car, this will be a lifelong lesson not to. Canny Ong did exactly this on 13th June 2003 when she was stalked and eventually murdered.
The culprit: a hard working cabin cleaner and loving father, Najib bin Aris. Can we really ever trust someone? Listen to find out more about what exactly happened to Canny and what kind of person Najib is.
Share your thoughts on this week's podcast and keep updated by following me at the following links:
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Research for this podcast was obtained from the following websites:
https://ms.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canny_Ong
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ahmad_Najib_Aris
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TRHlX9CMU2g&t=2228s&ab_channel=Documentary360Plus
https://www.nst.com.my/news/nation/2020/07/611857/nst175-nation-horrified-canny-ongs-rape-murder
The sound effects used in this podcast were obtained from the following websites:
1. https://www.zapsplat.com/
2, https://freesound.org/
Setuniman
Episode 3: The parking lot disappearance turned murder
Introduction
Have you ever gone shopping and parked your car in a gated underground parking lot? I’m sure many of you have and with these gated parking lots, there’s always tickets that need to be paid right? So no big deal, you’ve done this millions of times before so you park your car, get out and go about your day as normal. When you’re heading back, you realise, oh shit, you’ve gotta pay for the ticket first before leaving but you’ve left your tickets INSIDE the car! Ugh so frustrating, so you make that super long trek back to your car just to collect the tickets that you’ve left. But have you ever thought about how someone could be watching and waiting for this opportunity to abduct you after seeing that ticket being left in your car? Cause this is exactly what happened to Canny Ong who disappeared from the underground parking lot on 13th June 2003 in Bangsar, Kuala Lumpur.
Trasition:
Who is Canny Ong? Who kidnapped her? Why did they do this? This will all be answered so let’s first figure out who Canny Ong is.
Introduction to Canny Ong
Canny Ong Lay Kian was born on the 18th of July 1974 in Ipoh in the Malaysian state of Perak. She was the oldest child of Ong Bee Jeng, her father and Pearly Visvanathan, her mother. Canny also had two sisters named Elsie Ong Lee Cheng and Ong Lee Shian. Canny was known to be a bright woman as she had left Malaysia to pursue her education in a University in Hawaii where she studied economics. After graduating, she found a job as an IT analyst in Los Angeles where she met her loving husband, Brandon Ong. After marrying Brandon, they both settled down in San Diego.
Now Canny was an attractive young woman who was also very well loved by her family. Her parents have always described her as being very dutiful and caring, always putting family first. Canny was so loving that when her father was diagnosed with cancer, she dropped everything to fly back home to support her father and her family. She was so concerned for her family that the first thing she did once arriving back in Malaysia was to visit her father at the hospital. She devoted basically all of her time to caring for him. After months of battling cancer, her father was finally showing clear signs of recovery and only then did Canny feel comfortable returning back to the US.
To celebrate the recovery of her father and as a last farewell before heading back to the states, Canny decides to arrange for a farewell dinner with her family and closest friends. Unbeknownst to her family and friends, this was going to be the last they got to spend time together.
Transition:
Straight away, its obvious that Canny was an incredibly established woman who had so much to look forward to in life with a loving husband, family and stable career. I mean she is what every Asian parent wants in a child. Dutiful, caring, smart, gorgeous just all of it really. How would you feel having someone you love disappear before your eyes in just mere seconds?
Canny’s disappearance
On 13th June 2003, after having a farewell dinner with her family and friends, Canny’s mother Pearly began to feel tired. Being the loving daughter that she is, Canny offers to drive her mother home before coming back to continue with the farewell party. Thus, Canny heads down with her mother and sister Elsie in order to pay for the tickets at the autopay machine. That is when she realizes that she had left her tickets in the car. Before her mother could protest, Canny had dashed off to retrieve the tickets, leaving her mother and sister waiting at the Autopay machines. Despite it being only a short distance away, Canny had not returned. Pearly waited and waited and grew concerned once 20 minutes had passed with no signs of Canny. Anxious, Elsie called Canny’s mobile phone over and over but their hearts sank when it kept directing to voicemail.
Pearly and Elsie both decided to rush down to the parking area to find out what had happened. To their disbelief, the car had disappeared and Canny was nowhere to be found so they rushed back up to the restaurant hoping desperately that perhaps Canny had gone back. However, she was not there. Confused by her disappearance, Canny’s friends called her mobile phone continuously but again, they could only reach her voicemail. It was particularly odd for Canny to display this type of behaviour. Being the dutiful daughter that she was, she would not have left her mother waiting without good reason. Alarm bells began ringing when her mobile phone had suddenly been switched off mid ringing. Desperate, Pearly pleaded with security personnel for access to CCTV footage in order to find out what had happened to Canny. What they saw on CCTV was heart breaking and their worst fears came to life.
The CCTV footage showed a dark figure at the driver’s seat with what appears to be Canny cowering in the passenger’s seat. The car had sped through the car park, smashing through the barriers and driving off into the nights. Devastated, Pearly quickly files for a missing person’s report at the police station and feeling restless, continues to look for Canny alongside Canny’s friends. Together, they combed the streets of Kuala Lumpur hoping desperately for a sign of Canny or the car. However, to their disappointment, Canny and the car was nowhere to be seen.
Perhaps one of the most heart breaking was having to share the devastating news with, Canny’s husband, Brandon who was already beginning to feel concerned after not hearing back from Canny for some time. Brandon had a hard time comprehending the news and had to be told repeatedly what had happened to his beloved wife while he stood helpless, thousands of miles away. After the disappointing results of the search, Pearly returned home but stayed up all night, wishing she could’ve done more.
Transition:
What would you have done if somebody you loved had disappeared? If you’re a true crime enthusiast, I’m sure you’re well aware that the first 72 hours after someone’s disappearance is most crucial. I honestly, cannot even imagine what her friends and family must’ve thought or felt during that time. Receiving more and more disappointing news each time and being so helpless in this whole ordeal must’ve been so gut wrenching because you want this person to be safe, you want to be able to do something. Knowing that there was nothing you could’ve done, I think, is probably the worst. Where is Canny? Will she ever be found? Let’s continue now with the investigation into Canny’s disappearance.
Investigation into Canny’s disappearance
Despite filing a police report, no leads on the disappearance of Canny were made. Canny’s parents were so desperate that they turned to the press where they appeared on local news pleading to Canny’s abductor to return her back safely. Canny’s husband, Brandon would often cry and scream over the phone in anguish for the lack of progress in the investigation. Thankfully though, this press release garnered the attention of many Malaysians who then placed a huge pressure on the Malaysian police department to step up their game.
**Increasing tension music**
This resulted in a huge lead in the investigation. A proton tiara car was found abandoned along the side of the road and this car matched the exact same descriptions of Canny’s missing car. However, this was no good news as police found blood on the back seat of the car and Canny herself was still missing. 4 days after the disappearance of Canny, the police also made another gruesome discovery. They uncovered a body crushed under 2 heavy tyres filled with cement. The body was also burnt beyond recognition and was concealed within a manhole close to where Canny’s proton car was found. So it was clear that whoever had done this, purposefully made it difficult to identify the body.
When investigators took the body to be autopsied, Canny’s friend immediately identified the body as Canny’s from the jeans she was wearing. Unfortunately, DNA tests also proved that the body was indeed that of Canny’s and that she was likely raped before her murder due to the presence of semen inside Canny’s charred remains.
Transition:
This is a bit of a weird thought, but have you ever wondered what its like to smell a burning body? I can’t even begin to imagine the experience that these police investigators had to go through, knowing that what they’re smelling is literally a dead burnt human! In fact, the police officers and reporters who were there at the crime scene reported smelling a strange stench. And apparently this stench is so strong that it sticks to clothes and hair and takes 3 or more days to wash off. I’ve also heard from other reports that it makes people throw up so I think theres a huge psychological aspect to it. So my question now is what kind of an insane person chooses to rape and murder someone seemingly by chance and then disposes of the body in one of the most attention drawing and gruesome way, with a ginormous fire that can be seen from miles away. Let’s now dive into the police investigation that leads us to the killer.
Finding Canny’s murderer
A few days after Canny’s body was identified, a police officer named Ravi Chandran came forward to reveal that he had seen Canny and the possible murderer on the night she went missing. Ravi Chandran was doing rounds in an industrial area when he noticed a car parked on the side of the road and stopped by to investigate. Feeling suspicious of the pair, he requested for the couple’s identification cards which read Ahmad Najib Bin Aris and Ong Lay Kian. As Ravi continued to question the couple, Canny appeared to show signs of distress which prompted Ravi to request for Canny to step out of the car. However, Najib was not having any of this and the whole situation escalated. Before Canny could even step out of the car, Najib has stepped on the accelerator and sped off in the car. Although Ravi had pulled out a pistol and shot the car tyre to slow it down, he was still not quick enough to chase them. Thankfully, Najib had not thought things through and had left his own as well as Canny’s identification card with Ravi.
The police now had this huge lead in the investigation and a man hunt was on for Najib. However, when police ran the address shown on Najib’s identification card, it was found to be a false address. Upon further investigation, they found that Najib had a long history of false addresses on a number of documents. This led police to classify this man as a serial rapist and an incredibly dangerous individual capable of evading capture so it was vital that no information would leak and that everything must be done undercover. Thankfully, when police ran a search on their national marriage registry, they found the missing information they had been looking for. Police found the name of Najib’s wife and tracked her down at her workplace, following her home to where she was living with Najib. Finally, at 4am on the 20th July 2003, police noticed Najib walking towards his home and immediately arrested him. He was then taken in for questioning at Petaling Jaya Police Station.
With the arrest of Najib, the media went wild. This caused shock and disbelief for many who knew Najib well. On the outside, Najib was known to be a regular guy who was often very active in volunteering to help at mosques. He was also known to be very responsible when it came to his job and was a great father figure for his 2 children. However, it became clear that Najib possessed psychopathic tendencies, where he consistently battled for control, refusing to speak to anyone but the head of the criminal investigation and showed no forms of emotion throughout the investigation. Najib was also incredibly skilled at manipulation, often forcing the police to release evidence before admitting to any crimes. However, with the increasing evidence piling up, Najib had no choice but to give in and confess to the abduction and murder of Canny. He then agrees to provide police with the exact reconstruction of the sequence of events that led to Canny’s murder.
Transition: It freaks me out how insane it is that people who are seemingly regular could be hiding some sinister sides to them. I have to keep reminding myself that there isn’t one fixed look to a murderer. Like I’m always picturing this person who looks like he doesn’t take care of himself, who looks rough around the edges, who is creepy and lurking in the shadows. But reality is, it could be anyone, from your teacher, to your friend, to your very own family member. Though this is so shocking to me, the psychologist who analysed this case said that most psychopaths are capable of separating aspects of their lives and that they are great at concealing their darker side. Often not ever showing these dark sides to anyone until they truly come apart. Now that Najib had agreed to reconstruct the timeline, we can begin to unravel the truth behind what really happened to Canny.
Najib’s reconstruction of events
On the night of Canny’s disappearance, Najib was seeking for revenge against his former employer which he had a grudge with. Unfortunately, he had mistaken Canny as his former employer when she appeared in the parking lot looking for something inside her car. He took this opportunity to push Canny into her car and got into the car himself where he drove off and smashed through the parking barriers. To ensure Canny remained passive, he threatened Canny with a knife throughout the drive stating that he would kill her if she screamed or asked for help. He then drove around the city and parked the car briefly at an industrial area. This is when he ran into the undercover police officer Ravi Chandran who asked for their Identification Cards. It was only then that Najib realized the woman in his car was someone else. Instead of giving up entirely with the pursuit of revenge, Najib proceeds with his plan.
After evading the police officer, he sped off towards a construction site where he parks the car and rapes Canny. Even after this brutal rape, he forces Canny back into the car, drives further along the highway towards a quieter area and brutally rapes her a second time. As if that wasn’t enough suffering for Canny, he then stabs her twice in the stomach where she then bleeds profusely onto the rear car seats. Panicked, Najib drags the wounded Canny out of the car and over the highway barriers. He binds Canny’s neck, hands and feet and pushes her into a narrow hole on the side of the highway. He also placed two tyres filled with cement over her body. Canny’s last words to Najib was this: “I can hear the mosque’s call to prayer. Please go home and pray, because now I would like to pray too.” With this, Najib places Canny’s bound hands on her chest and heads home. It was around this time when Najib left that Canny had taken her last breath and passed away. Najib returns 16 hours later with a canister of petrol and burns up the crime scene in an attempt to conceal all evidence.
Transition: This was a handful. What kind of person just goes around hunting for a victim simply because they were wronged in some way? It also blows my mind that despite leaving his ID with a police officer and realizing the woman he had was not the woman he wanted, he still proceeds to rape and murder her. Clearly, any other sane person would have realized that this was too much evidence and maybe would feel some level of guilt for traumatizing the wrong person. Ofcourse kidnapping anyone even if they’ve done you wrong is terrible to begin with but this guy seems to have absolutely no moral compass. This guy definitely seems like he thinks he’s untouchable and maybe even likes the thrill of potentially being caught. Thankfully police are able to outsmart him and get him to confess so what happens to him from here onwards? This is what we’ll be diving into next.
Court case:
On 15th September 2003 Najib appears in the Petaling Jaya high court for the murder of Canny Ong. Large crowds gathered at the high court to catch a glimpse of this brutal murderer. Due to the immense interest and press coverage surrounding the case, there was huge pressure from the public to ensure that Najib would not be released. Despite confessing to his crimes, Najib pleaded not guilty and claimed that his confession was forced, tortured and coerced out of him by the police officers. However, prosecution argued that Najib had no evidence of physical injuries in spite of the claims and had in fact, voluntarily made the choice to confess.
After 10 days of the trial, the judge admitted Najib’s confession as evidence. Many other evidence that strongly linked Najib to the crime also surfaced. This included the traces of Canny’s DNA present in Najib’s clothes worn on the day of her disappearance. The cloth used to bind Canny’s neck, hands and feet were the same type of cloth that Najib used in his job to clean airplane windows. Psychiatrists also insisted that Najib was not psychotic and capable of making informed decisions particularly as he has had good relationships with his family, colleagues and neighbours.
Though the defence team claimed that Canny had ample opportunity to escape, experts in the prosecution team claims that escaping would not have been as easy particularly as she had no idea where she was nor who she could seek help from in an industrial area. Perhaps most frustrating was the blame that the defence team placed on Canny by claiming that rape had not taken place as Canny herself had consented to sexual acts with Najib despite not knowing the man. They stated that the cloth used to bind her was simply part of a sexual kink performed between couples and that death was a result of the asphyxiation from the binding. However, prosecution argued that even if this was consented, the binding was far tighter than what would be typical of this type of sexual act which would’ve resulted in serious harm or death.
Throughout the trials, Najib remained silent which shocked the public as well as Canny’s friends and family. Finally, on the 23rd of February 2005, Ahmad Najib Bin Aris was found guilty of the murder and rape of Canny Ong. He was sentenced to death for the murder of Canny Ong. Najib would also face 20 years of imprisonment and 10 strokes of the cane for the rape of Canny Ong.
Despite the sentencing, Najib would appeal several times but thankfully his appeals were rejected on the bases of the concrete forensic evidence against him. Najib also appealed for mercy from the Sultan of Selangor to reduce his death sentence to life imprisonment instead but again his plea was rejected. On 23rd September 2016, Najib was executed by hanging at the Kajang Prison.
Thoughts:
When I first read this, I was like, ok so it’s a one person murder, how serious can it be? But as I kept reading it, I just got angrier and angrier. Canny was such a loveable person, honestly, she is what every friend, family and lover want in a person and for her to just be taken away like that is so unimaginable. So many terrible conspiracy theories also surfaced about Canny’s relationship to Najib but I refuse to add this onto my podcast because some of it is just absurd because she truly had no clue who this man was and Najib himself admitted that he had gotten the wrong person. The whole randomness of this case just makes me feel so vulnerable because if it weren’t Canny, it truly could’ve been someone else. The terrible torture that Canny had to experience from the fear of being threatened to being brutally raped not once but twice then left to die alone on the side of a road is just truly one of the worst things to do to someone. What are your thoughts about this case?