Block 12 Lorong 7 Toa Payoh

Recommendation by Lemi

We end on Singapore’s most macabre crime: the Toa Payoh ritual murders. Adrian Lim was a self-proclaimed medium who preyed on vulnerable women through spiritual rituals. In 1981, Adrian Lim abducted, sexually violated, and murdered a nine-year old girl and a 10-year old boy. He performed rituals, drinking his victims’ blood and offering it to the Hindu goddess Kali (the Goddess of Death, associated with sexuality and violence). When authorities seized Lim’s apartment, they found various religious artifacts like crucifixes and Hindu and Taoist idols smeared with blood. Locals all over the city were horrified, tuning into any news of the case. Every time it is remembered today, the Toa Payoh ritual murders still bring a fresh sense of horror.

An Unquiet Place: Terrors in The Lion City