True Crime

Strangeland

by Audiochuck | Western Sound

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Latest episodes

Ep 12 of 12: Heroes and Villains

September 27, 2024 · 37 min

The story told at trial and in the press is that a Cambodian national hero was senselessly gunned down by three gang members. Over time, the known facts of the Haing Ngor case have been altered – or discarded – to fit that…
Ep 11 of 12: Behind Every Great Fortune

September 27, 2024 · 31 min

During an epic battle over Haing Ngor's estate, disturbing details start trickling in about the actor's private life. The paper trail shows that Ngor had enemies all around him, and some believe he was murdered by someone close to…
Ep 10 of 12: The Cobra Strikes

September 20, 2024 · 30 min

Many Cambodian refugees feel certain that Haing Ngor was killed for political reasons. The LAPD discounts these assassination theories. But then, a high-ranking Khmer Rouge officer gives a shocking testimony at a UN tribunal about the…
Ep 9 of 12: The Bad Guy

September 20, 2024 · 29 min

We have a hard time getting direct knowledge of what happened on the night of the murder. So many people connected to this story have passed away or are still too scared to come forward. But then, out of the blue, we get a call from…
Ep 8 of 12: The Color of Law

September 13, 2024 · 41 min

Just weeks after the gang members were convicted, a massive scandal erupts inside the LAPD. The root of the department's corruption is the CRASH program, an initiative to get gang members off the streets using any means necessary…

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Ep 7 of 12: Hell of a Movie

September 13, 2024 · 30 min

The juries deliver their verdicts. But that's just the beginning of a multi-decade legal battle, as claims of police and prosecutorial misconduct emerge. Years after the murder, a lawyer bumps into a judge who expresses some deep concerns…
Ep 6 of 12: Smoke and Mirrors

September 6, 2024 · 36 min

In an extremely unusual trial, the state of California makes its case against Jason Chan, Indra Lim, and Tak Sun Tan. An LAPD cop-turned-judge presides over a circus-like courtroom, in which three juries are crammed into one jury box…
Ep 5 of 12: The Golden Lotus

September 6, 2024 · 37 min

LAPD detectives turn up the heat in their search for potential witnesses. The cops get two boys who were allegedly hanging out near the crime scene to ID three local gang members. But both witnesses later recant – saying that the police…
Ep 4 of 12: Kill the Chicken Scare the Monkey

August 30, 2024 · 35 min

The shadow of the Khmer Rouge follows thousands of Cambodians to southern California. Terrified of authority and distrustful of one another, these refugees struggle to adapt to life in America. So when police canvas Chinatown asking about…
Ep 3 of 12: Year Zero

August 30, 2024 · 43 min

Most people involved in this case – the victim, two of three boys arrested for the murder, the main witnesses, and Haing's neighbors – were Cambodian refugees. So we return to the original crime scene – Pol Pot's killing fields – to…
Ep 2 of 12: It's Chinatown

August 23, 2024 · 35 min

We head to Chinatown to hear the LAPD's official account of the crime and retrace detectives' footsteps as they worked this case. Authorities recount their breaks in the investigation – from clues found at the crime scene to revelations…
Ep 1 of 12: The Tiger and Its Stripes

August 23, 2024 · 42 min

LAPD officers respond to a shooting in Chinatown and identify the murder victim as Oscar-winning actor Haing Ngor. They find $4000 in cash on his body, and rule out a robbery motive. But the cops later reverse course and charge three teens…

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About the show

STRANGELAND from audiochuck is an investigative series that examines cases in immigrant neighborhoods. Season 3: The Killing Fields of L.A. is hosted by Ben Adair and Mayly Tao. In 1996, a Cambodian refugee was gunned down in an alley in L.A.’s Chinatown. But this wasn’t a typical murder. The victim was Haing Ngor, an Oscar-winning actor and humanitarian. Many Cambodians believe Ngor was assassinated over his role in The Killing Fields – a film that depicted the Khmer Rouge’s reign of terror. Three teenage gang members were convicted and sentenced to decades in prison for murder. Yet to this day, the Cambodian community remains unconvinced of the boys’ guilt. Because the thousands of dollars in cash found on Ngor didn’t square with the LAPD’s story, and multiple witnesses said investigators coerced their testimony. In this season of Strangeland, journalist Ben Adair and Cambodian-American podcaster Mayly Tao piece through Haing Ngor’s journey from genocide survivor to Hollywood star to murder victim — and re-investigate the LAPD’s case to find out if justice was lost in translation. Strangeland is produced by Western Sound.