Patrick Haemers (2 November 1952,

Schaerbeek (French and archaic Dutch, ) or (contemporary Dutch, ) is one of the 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located in the north-eastern part of the region, it is bordered by the City of Brussels, Etterbeek, Evere and S ...

– 14 May 1993) was a

Belgian Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct languag ...

criminal who was member of a gang which carried out robberies of security vans and kidnapped former Belgian prime minister

Paul Vanden Boeynants Paul Emile François Henri Vanden Boeynants (; 22 May 1919 – 9 January 2001) was a Belgian politician.
Rulers. Retrieved 30 August 2014.< ...

Biography

The son of a nightclub owner, Haemers was tall with striking looks, and became known for his hedonistic lifestyle. He became addicted to cocaine and was convicted of rape. After serving a few years he was released, and was involved in a money laundering scheme. His offending escalated until he was participating in armed robberies of security vans that occurred so frequently that they led to greatly increased security. He left the country for a time, but on 14 January 1989 he was one of those who kidnapped former Belgian prime minister

Paul Vanden Boeynants Paul Emile François Henri Vanden Boeynants (; 22 May 1919 – 9 January 2001) was a Belgian politician.
Rulers. Retrieved 30 August 2014.< ...

, releasing Vanden Boeynants on 13 February 1989 for a reportedly huge ransom. Other members of the Haemers Gang were Basri Bajrami, who hailed from Kosovo in former Yugoslavia, Marc Van Dam, Philippe Lacroix and

Denise Tyack Denise may refer to: * Denise (given name), people with the given name ''Denise'' * Denise (computer chip), a video graphics chip from the Amiga computer * "Denise" (song), a 1963 song by Randy & the Rainbows * Denise, Mato Grosso, a municipalit ...

. Wanted in Belgium on several criminal counts, and by this time having an infant son, he fled to Brazil with his girlfriend, but they were tracked down. He was extradited back to Belgium. Suffering severe withdrawal symptoms in prison, and after a transfer prevented him joining an escape with his accomplices, the by then 40-year-old was apparently unable to cope with the prospect of serving a long sentence. He hanged himself from a 130-centimetre (4'3")-high radiator in a Belgian jail cell in 1993. He was at one time considered a likely suspect as the so-called 'giant' of the

Brabant killers The Brabant killers, also named the Nivelles Gang in Dutch-speaking media ( nl, De Bende van Nijvel), and the mad killers of Brabant in French-speaking media (french: Les Tueurs fous du Brabant), are responsible for a series of violent attacks tha ...

, but unlike the relatively small-time robberies of the Brabant gang, Haemers's crimes were always aimed at high-value rewards.

In popular culture

The kidnapping of Vanden Boeynants by the Haemers gang was made into a

novelty song A novelty song is a type of song built upon some form of novel concept, such as a gimmick, a piece of humor, or a sample of popular culture. Novelty songs partially overlap with comedy songs, which are more explicitly based on humor, and wit ...

, '' Qui...?'' (1989) by the

New Beat New beat is a Belgian electronic dance music genre that fuses elements of new wave, hi-NRG,Simon Reynolds: ''Generation Ecstasy: Into the World of Techno and Rave Culture.'' Routledge 1999, , p. 124. EBM and hip hop (e.g. scratching).Ti ...

band

Brussels Sound Revolution Brussels Sound Revolution was a Belgian new beat band who had a novelty song hit in their home country with the 45 tours single '' Qui...?'' (1989), which featured samples of the speech Belgian former Prime Minister Paul Vanden Boeynants gave afte ...

, which contained samples from Vanden Boeynants' press conference. It was a hit on both sides of the Belgian language border. In Flanders, Belgium it reached the 28th place in the Radio 2 hit parade at the time for one week.

References

1952 births 1993 deaths 1993 suicides 20th-century Belgian criminals Belgian gangsters Belgian people convicted of kidnapping Belgian people who died in prison custody Belgian rapists People who died by suicide in prison custody Prisoners who died in Belgian detention Suicides by hanging in Belgium Suspected serial killers {{Belgium-bio-stub