"Please Hit Me with a Hammer"...The Identity of the 'Wonsungi Torture Room' Revealed

BBC Reports on International Crime Organization Involved in 'Wonsungi Gojun' Torture
Police Launch Investigation into 20 Key Suspects

An international criminal organization that brutally tortured and killed monkeys to generate profits has been exposed, sparking controversy. This organization received orders for torture methods from countries such as the United States and the United Kingdom, and produced videos of monkey torture in Indonesia, distributing them via Telegram.

Recently, the British BBC reported that through an investigative project lasting about a year, it was revealed that customers from several countries including the US and UK paid the perpetrators to torture and cruelly kill baby monkeys.

According to the report, signs of abuse were first detected on YouTube. Lucy Cafetani from Los Angeles, USA, who usually enjoyed watching cute animal videos, discovered a violent video depicting monkeys being hit while watching videos recommended by YouTube’s algorithm in May last year. In addition, UK animal rights activist Nina Jaeckel also detected the 'abuse content genre' through YouTube’s algorithm.

[Image source=Pixabay]

Monkey abuse videos were posted not only on YouTube but also in Telegram group chats. Brokers recruited about 400 participants in Telegram group chats, collected money, and commissioned video production. The average price per video was $200 (approximately 250,000 KRW), and some organizations had up to 1,000 members.

BBC infiltrated one of the Telegram chat rooms. As a result, it was found that hundreds of people shared torture ideas and commissioned operators in Asian countries such as Indonesia to carry out the torture. The operators filmed videos of baby monkeys being tortured and killed as requested and delivered them to the clients.

In particular, during the process of torturing the monkeys, the operators voted on torture tools or methods such as hammers or pliers to decide on specific abuse methods.

In an interview with BBC, Mike McCartney (48), one of the core operators of the group chat, said, "People were preparing votes. They were saying things like 'Should we use a hammer? Do you want pliers? Should we use a screwdriver?'" He added, "The videos produced were the most grotesque I have ever seen in my life." McCartney operated under the nickname 'Torture King' and is currently under investigation by authorities.

The US Department of Homeland Security is investigating key ringleaders including a woman in her 40s named Stacy Story and a person known as 'Mr. Ape.'

After police tracking, three buyers of torture videos were arrested in the UK and one in the US. Currently, police are investigating at least 20 people worldwide believed to be involved in the abuse cases. US Department of Homeland Security agent Paul Wolpert stated, "This case is reminiscent of child sexual exploitation material," pointing out that "the organized distribution, private groups, and consumption methods are similar."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.