Malaysia’s ‘Centipede Man’ Is Fatal Attraction for Customers of His Lotion and Balm

Poisonous centipedes and scorpions are child’s play to Malaysian street peddler Chan Fook Choy.

The “Centipede Man” lets dozens of scorpions and centipedes crawl over him as he sells his folk cures to horrified onlookers in towns and villages across Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia.

A bite or sting can cause excruciating pain or even prove fatal, but Chan, 44, claims that he can hypnotize his lethal pets to prevent them from hurting him or his family.

At every stop of his bizarre roadshow, his two teen-age sons lift up dozens of shiny, black 4-inch scorpions from a glass tank and place them on his head, neck and inside his shirt.

March Across Chan’s Body

For a few minutes, the scorpions, their tails arched back with poisonous tips ready to strike, march across his body as Chan smiles and talks to the crowds.

Then, without warning, he starts slapping the scorpions to get them to sting him before unbuttoning his shirt to show a body covered with rashes on which he applies his homemade lotion.

For customers who are still not persuaded, Chan begins his next act.

From a plastic bucket he picks up 6-inch centipedes and puts them on his head where they crawl for a few seconds before he stuffs the animals, which can inflict painful bites, into his mouth.

His face contorts in apparent agony before he spits them out, to the relief of the crowd who by now has shed all doubts about his scorpion lotion and centipede balm.

At $2.20 for a 4-ounce bottle, business is brisk.

Has 500 Scorpions

“I cannot make enough to meet demand,” said the beaming Chan, looking none the worse after his performance near his home in this southern Malaysian town where he keeps about 500 scorpions and dozens of centipedes.

Chan’s family help pan-fry the scorpions to extract an oil that he says is a good antidote against bites, tetanus and even asthma.

Scorpions soaked in a mixture of Chinese herbs for 100 days produce a lotion that he swears will cure rheumatism, cramps and backaches.

“Of course I was frightened when I first started. I was bitten a few times and the pain was very acute. But now I actually enjoy doing this,” Chan said.

He learned his skills at the age of 10 from a Cambodian Chinese master, Tong Kam Hon, known as “Scorpion Man.”

Chan refuses to divulge his secrets and would say only that he repeats a chant for three minutes before each act to hypnotize the scorpions and centipedes, rendering them harmless.

Fame Spread

His fame has spread to Hong Kong, where he has acted in two films. He has signed a contract for a third to be shot in Malaysia this year.

Chan made his film debut in Hong Kong as a sorcerer with scorpions and centipedes crawling over him in a 1984 film entitled “Centipede Horror” and followed up with “Devil Sorcery” in 1987.

For the two films, he had to bring along dozens of scorpions and centipedes inside his luggage.

Chan said that besides his master, he is the only man who has perfected the art, although he once met an Indonesian who used scorpions whose poisonous stings had been removed.

“I challenged him to exchange his scorpions with mine and perform together in public,” Chan said. “He never showed up.”