What happened
Boonpeng, remembered in Thai crime history as “Iron-Chest Boonpeng,” was accused of killing people who came to him for spiritual or religious guidance in the late 1910s.
The investigation
Authorities investigated after victims disappeared and evidence was associated with heavy containers used to conceal remains. Later retellings attribute more victims to him than were proved in court.
What the courts or investigators concluded
He was convicted of two murders and executed by beheading in 1919.
Why the case remains significant
The case survives as part history and part folklore; separating the two is essential because the larger victim totals often repeated today exceed the killings established by the judicial record.
Case context
Crime by Region organizes cases geographically so readers can move from one file to other investigations from the same country. For unresolved or contested cases, the wording above reflects the distinction between confirmed events, investigative theories and findings actually established in court.