Malaysians will soon be able to revisit the circumstances surrounding sensational murder cases in the CI Asia series which is shown over Astro’s Crime & Investigation Network.

There will be three documentaries produced by local production houses as part of this CI Asia series. The documentaries are a collaboration between AETN Astro All-Asia Networks (AAA Networks) and the National Film Development Corporation of Malaysia (Finas).

Among the Malaysian notorious cases that have found their way into the series are the high-profile case of beauty queen Jean Perera who was found murdered in Subang more than 30 years ago; the daring arms heist by religious cult Al Maunah; and crimes committed by those who supposedly used supernatural powers.

The documentaries also feature Singapore’s The Garden City Butcher; and Hongkong’s The Double Kidnap of Teddy Wang and The Braemar Hill Murders.

Louis Boswell, general manager of AAA Networks told a press conference that there were many crime stories to choose from and they decided on the most interesting ones.

However, the Malaysian stories featured on these documentaries might reopen old wounds and even be deemed sensitive by some.

The first documentary on Malaysian cases, Spellbound: Crimes of the Mind, premieres on Dec 6. It deals with criminals who purportedly used supernatural powers and is written, directed and produced by renowned documentary filmmaker Mohd Naguib Razak, who in the past has co-produced and co-directed Becoming a King for National Geographic Channel and The Boat-maker and the Sea for Discovery Channel.

Naguib said Spellbound: Crimes of the Mind is about pukau or hypnotism. "Can you imagine someone coming up and talking to you, and unknowingly, you hand over your wallet or jewellery to him. By the time you realise what’s happening, it’s too late. It’s a hard crime to prove as it’s your word against theirs. It’s almost like a perfect crime."

He said they were even "endowed" with the skill to keep everybody fast asleep in the house when they break into the house. They also know the art of becoming invisible and this will be shown in the documentary.

"We spoke to victims, hypnotherapists, criminologists, psychotherapists, crime scene experts and also a street magician to try and understand what’s going on," explained Naguib.

Gerard Benedict, producer and director of Jean Perera: The Beauty Queen Murder (airing on Dec 20) said the case was hugely sensational in its time because the victim was a beauty queen, a mother of three and a widow.

She was found brutally stabbed in a car at an underpass near Subang and her brother-in-law was found unconscious behind the car.

He was eventually arrested for her murder and was found guilty and sentenced to be hanged.

But months later, a witness in the trial claimed he had committed perjury, and coupled with a few other technical points, the accused was acquitted.

Gerard revealed that much of the actual murder is re-enacted in the documentary. "For the first time in 30 years, Malaysians will get a chance to see how the murder could have taken place."

He said although Jean was brutally stabbed, her brother-in-law did not have any blood stains on him and since DNA tests were not used then, all the authorities had on him was some physical evidence.

"These are things I think which are going to intrigue our viewers as they try and figure out what had taken place," said Gerard, who has been in broadcasting for 25 years.

He admitted that witnesses from the trial were hard to come by as some had passed away while others were not willing to talk.

Al Maunah: The Malaysian Arms Heist (Dec 13) is about the arms heist which took place on July 2, 2000. Executive producer Lydia Lubon said it is told from the perspective of the security forces, one of the hostages and a representative for the cult.

The heist took place at 3am on July 2 at an army reserve camp in Perak. The guards were tricked into allowing the Al Maunah members to enter the camp as they had showed up in military gear.

Lydia said she experienced problems trying to conduct interviews and getting more information for the documentary as the incident was still a sore point with the armed forces.

CI Asia is aired on the Crime & Investigation Network (Channel 732) every Sunday at 9pm.