Entertainment reporter gemmapeplow. Inspired by the true story of a fraudster and murderer who preyed on tourists travelling through Asia in the s, The Serpent is the latest true crime drama being binged in lockdown.
A French national who was born Hatchand Bhaonani Gurumukh Charles Sobhraj to an Indian father and Vietnamese mother in what was then known as Saigon now Ho Chi Minh City , Sobhraj led a life of petty crime as a teenager which escalated to much darker deeds. Evading authorities using false passports across Thailand, India and Nepal, on what was known as the hippie trail travellers' route, he would pose as a drug dealer or gem salesmen to impress and get to know tourists, before robbing them.
He was accused of the murders of several Western tourists, playing cat and mouse with the authorities for years - his ability to give police the slip and escape jail earned him his Serpent nickname, although he also became known as the Bikini Killer as the bodies of several female victims were found in swimwear. In The Serpent, he is seen poisoning his victims, burning the bodies of some, and leaving others to drown.
Sobhraj was eventually jailed in India in Ten years later, as his sentence was due to end, he escaped prison - knowing a Thai arrest warrant against him, which would almost certainly have led to the death penalty, was still valid.
His escape and subsequent recapture meant his jail term in India was extended - and so he avoided execution in Thailand. He was eventually released in and returned to France. Seemingly enjoying his notoriety, he gave media interviews about his life. But in , having travelled to Nepal once again, he was captured by police there and a murder inquiry was reopened. Some accounts suggest he was hoping to be caught once again, craving the attention. By , he had been jailed again and now aged 76, he remains in prison.
