A cannibal serial killer whose embalmed corpse was displayed for six decades as a macabre warning was finally cremated today (July 23).
Si Quey, 32, was found guilty of murdering seven children, cooking and eating them before being executed by firing squad in Bangkok, Thailand, in 1958.
His corpse was used for research and embalmed before being put on display at the Siriraj Hospital Medical Museum - where it had remained ever since.
The killer's name was often used by parents as a warning for children to behave and it spawned the phrase 'If you misbehave, Si Quey will come and catch you'.
However, in August last year human rights groups complained that the macabre display was undignified as the exhibit branded him a cannibal. Si Quey admitted murdering the babies but he always denied cooking and eating them, despite being found guilty.
The title of the display was changed from 'Si Quey, Cannibal to 'Death Row Prisoner' before being removed from public view in August.
Si Quey has now been given a traditional Buddhist funeral with an ornate casket and cremation with religious rites at a temple in Nonthaburi province, around 20 miles north of Bangkok.
Dr. Prasit Wattanapa, a professor at the Faculty of Medicine at Siriraj Hospital Mahidol University, said that the body was initially displayed as a warning.
He said: ''Displaying the body taught people to realise that if they do something wrong, there will be a penalty.
''However, when human rights supporters said that this could be a violation, we listened and understood. We did not want to now become the people doing something wrong.''
Human rights activist Angkhana Neelaphaijit welcomed the move. She said the reason the body had been embalmed was because no relatives had ever come forward to claim it.
According to police records, the bodies of at least four of the children murdered and allegedly cooked and eaten by Si Quey were found in Thap Sakae district. The other murders were committed in Bangkok, Nakhon Pathom and Rayong, where he was arrested but the bodies were never discovered.
Wat Bang Praek Tai, where he was cremated, is one of two temples where religious ceremonies were held for inmates executed by firing squad at the prison.
The temple is next to the Bang Kwang Prison where Si Quey was held.
