Rotten Mango - #281: Fraternity Pledge Tortured To Death For 48 Hours - Forced To Eat Live Eels & Mice

Episode Date: July 26, 2023

December 2018, 20 year-old Sanda Dia was brought into the emergency room by his so-called “college friends.” He was unconscious and cold to the touch. His friends did not give doctors any information on what was wrong with him. They didn’t tell doctors that for the past 48 hours, they had tortured Sanda to the point of his death. After fighting for his life in the hospital - Sanda died of multiple organ failure. Doctors performed an autopsy to discover in his stomach - whole goldfish, decapitated heads of mice, decapitated heads of eel, and more than 2 months of the average salt intake. Sanda Dia was tortured to death by the fraternity all because he was black. Full Source Notes: rottenmangopodcast.com To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Bada bean bada boop. December 2018. 20 year old sandadilla was brought into the emergency room. By a few of his, um, his college friends, I don't know if we're going to call them college friends, but just think of it like that right now. He was unconscious. All the color in sandas face had drained from his body and he felt cold to the touch. He was unresponsive. And the doctors are confused. Like this isn't otherwise healthy, active young man who had no indications of any sort of pre-existing medical condition. And now, this 20-year-old is laying here with a body temperature of only 80 degrees Fahrenheit or 20 degrees Celsius. A healthy body ranges around 97 to 99 degrees Fahrenheit. This is a huge difference. It was also showing that he had hyper-natremia, so this is when

there's an excessive amount of sodium in the body. The FDA suggests an average American adult consumes about 2,300 milligrams of salt a day. Sanders' body was reflecting as if he had consumed 160,000 milligrams of sodium. That is over two months of the average sodium intake that it seemed like he had consumed in one day. You don't do that by eating a ton of fast food, by eating something salty. That's poisoning, right? Yes.

It didn't make sense. The doctors and medical professionals tried to ask these so-called college friends, what happened to Sanda? What was wrong with him? Like, how did you guys find him? How did you guys get him here? What was he doing prior to knocking out? They all just kind of shrugged.

They all looked the other way or said things along the lines of, we don't really know. We think he's strong. We don't really know it's wrong okay something was clearly very wrong though despite all the life-saving attempts by medical staff 20 year old Sandra Dia would die of multiple organ failure when the hospital performed an autopsy to figure out what could have been the issue what could have been the cause of such a healthy college student's sudden death. They were shocked. So it's customary to go through the stomach contents during an autopsy. It reveals a lot, you know, the last time when someone ate can be told by the stomach contents or the amount of acid there is. What they ate can even be determined.

If maybe there was something ingested that could have led to their fatality all of these things I don't think anything could have prepared the doctors for what they're about to find Inside of sanda diastemic they found that he had been starved of food and water for the past two days But instead in his stomach there were goldfish Not the snack the actual fish like the pet goldfish swallowed whole, decapitated mice heads, swallowed whole, and decapitated eel heads, you know, like the eels that swim in the ocean, or freshwater, eel heads decapitated.

It was clear to doctors that Sanda had gone through something very horrible before his death. He had been tortured by 18 fraternity brothers from the most prestigious school in the entire country. He was being haste. He was trying to join a fraternity and he died during the initiation process. And for nearly five years, 18 fraternity brothers held meetings with their powerful families and attorneys. They cleaned up the evidence, they covered their trucks, they stayed hush hush about what happened leading up to Sanda's death, and for nearly five years, they were able to keep it somewhat a secret till it all started coming to light. And it exposed

one of the most heinous, sadistic fraternity hazing initiations I have ever researched in my life. Pledges were forced to bite off the heads of life mice and eels, swallow them whole, chug glasses of other people's urine, swallow live goldfish, drink fish sauce. Do you know fish sauce? It's like soy sauce. They were forced to defecate and urinate on each other They were forced into graves filled with ice water and eels All these very well thought out actions of 18 college students would lead to a bright college student's death And they would basically get away with it

So let's get into today's case as always full show notes are available at rottonmingopodcast.com. But last month, June of 2023, a YouTuber by the name of Acid posted a video that got him banned from the platform for like a week, so it's making me a little nervous. But his video has since been taken down, but the damage was essentially done. He started a social media carnage, if you will, and I'm not even mad about it. Asid posted a video about the killing of San D'Adea from 2018, and in the video,

he released some of the names of some of the perpetrators involved. He essentially docks them, and that's why the video was taken down, but the impact was already done. Asid is considered one of the largest Dutch speaking YouTubers in all of Belgium, where this case takes place. So his audience is pretty big. And when he dropped this video,

this case starts getting massive attention, and even after the video is taken down, people have downloaded it, reposted clips of it, reshared it on TikTok, Facebook, all these other platforms. They've linked articles journalists got involved, and this is how Sanders' case became international news recently. There were conversations about racism and Belgium and really everywhere else in the world, conversations about colleges hiding and burying students' disgusting secrets. Conversations about how rich kids can seemingly get away with anything and it thrusts a certain fraternity into the spotlight. Rusehom.

I think I'm saying that right. It's spelled with a G, but I think it's pronounced H, right? Rusehom was founded 77 years ago, and their emblem is like this flammish lion. I'm sorry, but when I look at their emblem, it's like very Harry Potter slither and vibes. Their colors are green and white. They've got a flammish lion, and most of the fraternity

members, so it's an all-male, secret society, basically. They're members that are students of law, engineering, business. So these are very established people from established families. This fraternity in particular quickly became one of the most sought-after fraternities of the entire university. What's the university? It is the number one university in Belgium. It's KU Loven, and this is like one of the most

prestigious universities in all of Belgium. So this is like a top school. And this fraternity inside Loven was one of the top fraternities everyone wanted to be a part of. They were incredibly exclusive. Every year they would only accept maybe two to three new members, and they really honed in on the secret society aspect of the fraternity. I mean, there were so many rumors about them.

There were rumors about how extreme they took their hazing, but I think at the time, at the school, it only added to the intrigue. It only made them more mysterious and more sought after, like this larger-than-life reputation. Because none of them would speak on truly all the hazing that they went through, but you just, you almost, it's almost like the badge of honor that they wore. You have no idea and that makes you more intrigued.

Most members also came from elite families that had power and influence, which added to the exclusiveness of the fraternity. It felt less like a fraternity and truly more like a secret society of all the rich, powerful kids at this particular school. Do people know who's in there or not really? Everyone at the on campus? Yes. Oh, okay. Yes. So it's the type of fraternity. Here's my opinion on it. I think that everyone might shit on this type of fraternity and talk shit about them and be like, oh, what a bunch of weirdos. But maybe, maybe if they personally invited you to a party, you might get a little bit excited

or like, oh my gosh, I can't believe they even know me, right? Kind of that energy. But because of this YouTube video that was posted by acid, and this is a case that happened in 2018, a lot of the secrets of the fraternity were slowly exposed. A few secrets had been laid to rest, had been dug back up by acid. In 2013, an animal rights group by the name of Gaia lodged a complaint against the fraternity. A video had been leaked in which the fraternity brothers

had filmed themselves killing and abusing a baby piglet as part of the hazing ceremony. A baby pig. Instead of formally charging them, the university covered for the fraternity by putting together a document called the hazing charter. It's so unseurious. The school admin put together a document that just said, please agree to abstain from violence, racism, extortion, bullying, sexual assault, and discrimination, and using animals

during hazing. These are all illegal actions. Why are they even like okay to do it at the beginning? It's like please don't kill people. You're in hazing, please. I know you already did, but here's a thing. Yeah, so they just made this document and had all the fraternities and sororities on campus sign it.

And I know what you're thinking. Okay, so Rhythm signed it and then turned around and went back to hazing people with piglets, right? They didn't even sign it, they refused to sign it. They basically told the school, thanks for covering for us, but we're gonna do what we want. And the university took no further action,

made no further attempts to make hazing safer for humans and or for the animals, and soon the whole thing was forgotten. Meanwhile, the fraternity got right back into it. A recent document showed that their annual initiation, they created a food menu for the pledges. This is what it reads. Appetizers Grasshoppers and cockroaches Main course, live mice and fish, dessert, coffee and cocaine.

And that's not all. A creepy photo was released of the fraternity and cocaine. And that's not all. A creepy photo was released of the fraternity, and it's a horror level. It appears to be the fraternity members after a hazing ceremony in the forest. And they're all dressed in suits and trench coats and these thick coats that are long.

There's four pledges, so these are the four people getting initiated that are in the photo. Two of them are on the floor on all fours in just in the woods. The other two are on their knees. One has a gun pushed into his temple, and the other one has a rifle pointed at him. It's like horror level photo. What? And that picture left everyone wondering,

what kind of hazing rituals was this secret society doing? Like, what kind of dark things was this fraternity involved in? What really happened behind closed doors in RISM? Where most members had parents who were politicians, lawyers, doctors, and CEOs, how far would these parents go to protect their kids if something happened inside this fraternity? Sandhadea wasn't really the type to join a fraternity and I'm going to explain why later, but not that anything is typically wrong with fraternities, but we're going to get there. Sandhadea was born in Belgium and since the day he was born, like many immigrant parents,

Sandhade knew that he just had this privilege of even being born in Belgium, like even being born in this country to him was a privilege. Sandhade's dad was from Senegal and he was actually a refugee who sought asylum in Belgium. Like even being born in this country to him was a privilege. Sunda's dad was from Senegal and he was actually a refugee who sought asylum in Belgium just a few years before Sunda was born. And like so many immigrant fathers, he had given up practically everything for his two sons to have this better life. And he knew that black bellgums, they just don't get as much opportunities as their white counterparts. And just to get the same level of respect, treatment, and career advancements, he knew that his sons would have to work twice as hard just because they were black.

So ever since they were born, hard work is like ingrained in them. It's like in their DNA from the minute that they took their first breath. So when they were kids, Mr. D. of the father, he would work all day long in the local factory. He would spend his nights learning the local language. Any amount of spare time he found in between, he would sacrifice sleep to stay up with his sons while they did their homework. And you know, I think it's ingrained in immigrant parents to want to sit their kids down constantly

and say things like, do you know what I had to go through? Do you even appreciate what kind of blessings you have? How privileged you are, right? Mr. D. I didn't really have to do that with his sons. They seem to kind of already know. They didn't really take anything for granted. And all he wanted was for Santa to dream big and achieve everything that he ever wanted.

And Sando was on track. Ever since he was young, he was constantly thinking of like new things he wanted to do. New projects and Devers challenges that he wanted to tackle. When he was in kindergarten, he made this best friend, Ferry, and they were like lifelong friends. They lived about five minutes away from each other and they were practically glued at the hip. Everyone in their neighborhood would just hear

excited talking, laughing, and then see this like blur of motions that pass them. And when they look to the right, they go Santa and ferry again, goofing around on their little bikes. They would constantly talk about how they're gonna make their own video games one day, how they're gonna, or they loved manga.

So they would ride around on their bikes and talk about how they were gonna go to university, get a good job, save up all their money and move to Japan one day. And they would swear at Pinky, swear to each other, that they would be best friends forever and make it to Japan. Sanda would never make it to Japan. But he did make a lot of friends growing up. He's very ambitious and smart, goofy. I know it sounds really cliche, but he was just kind of like a natural at everything he did.

You could be solving this impossible math problem, and he would walk in, sit down, and within two seconds solve the problem with you. And almost didn't seem fair. First, someone to be so good at everything. On his first time playing soccer with his friends, they were shocked. They're like, what do you mean?

You've never played soccer before. How are you so good? There's no way. You're lying to us. You're hustling us. Whatever he did, he just seemed so naturally good at it. Which is the exact type of person that people want to hate. People don't like perfect people. Two kind, two smart, two ambitious, two funny. But it's just really hard to hate Zanda. Those who knew him said you have one conversation with him,

and you just want to be his best friend. He just gets people. He gets how they think. He knows how to find common ground. He knows how to make people feel safe and unjudged and comfortable. It's like, you know, when you're part of a big group, and maybe for some reason, they're all poking fun at you. Well, that's your voice so squeaky.

Why don't you talk like that? Oh, gosh, you have a valid girl accent. opened, maybe for some reason they're all poking fun at you. Well, that's your voice so squeaky. Why do you talk like that? Oh gosh, you have a valid girl accent. Sanda would be the type to not even smile and look straight at you, look you in the eye and say, I really like your voice. He is just so magnetic, you know? That's the best way people describe him. After high school, Sanda was admitted into the prestigious university of

Lovene. To give you context on how impressive this is, Sanda would be the first member of his family to attend university. And he was going to attend one of the most prestigious universities in the country. His family was being a hundred proud. Mr. Dia said, it was an absolute dream for me. Yeah. The school was about 30 minutes away from home, but Santa chose to dorm, and he starts doing his studies.

He chose civil engineering. And by 2018, he was in his third year of a five-year program to receive both his bachelor's and his master's in civil engineering. I think Santa put a lot of pressure on himself. Like, yes, I think his dad pushed him, but I think for Son that he was really mature for his age.

And I think that most of us find out later. Oh, you know, wow, being able to study in a country like this is actually a huge privilege. I think that Son to realize that when he was a kid. So he put in the work, he wanted to make his dad proud. He didn't want to waste this opportunity that he had. He wanted to be the one to retire his dad and to tell him that everything had worked out because of everything he had sacrificed. So now that he's in his third year of university, the idea

of getting a job after he graduates is just looming over his head. He's not even spending his time partying. He's just thinking about, okay, in two years I'm going to graduate and I need to find a job and I need to be able to pay the bills, and I got to do all of these things. Anything's to himself. Maybe I should join a fraternity? Okay, I know a lot of people join fraternities, because they want a sense of community. Or let's be real. Sometimes it's the prestige, or the parting, the legacy, the friendships, the social life, the exclusivity. And I'm sure Sanda wanted a little bit of that too, but he's thinking very practically. He has the grades, he has the social skills, he has

the work ethic, but he's going to be a black man entering into an industry that is still predominantly controlled by white men. White men that were all connected to each other somehow. So Sanda wanted, and as a black man, he almost needed that kind of network. Because you know, we live in a world where it's not really just about merit. It's also largely about who you're connected to. It was no secret that many students in the RISM fraternity came from very high profile families and elite backgrounds. Some of Sanda's friends, they were kind of shocked when he told them that he would be rushing,

which is like applying to be part of a fraternity. A lot of them were confused, you know? And something that I found interesting, and I'm not sure if it's different in Belgium, but he's joining as a third year and not as a first year, which makes me believe is, yes, maybe he wanted all the other cool things that came along with being a part of a fraternity, but it really does seem like he did it for the networking aspect. He's like, in two years, I'm going to graduate, and I need a network. So third year into university, he's like, okay, maybe it's time for me to join a fraternity.

Sanda's older brother said, clubs like that have its benefits. Being in a club like that, if you know them, it's really good for your network. And when you leave school, these types of people will trust you a lot faster. Another black student stated, some people think it's stupid to join a fraternity and go through the hazing period, but for a lot of black people, it's very understandable. So I think this is some nuance that's needed for this case.

There, yeah, I'm sure he just wanted to be a part of a fraternity as well, but I think for him being a black man, that networking power meant so much more to him. It was so much more necessary. The sentiment being for black university students, networking means more than just having frat parties on the weekends.

It could make or break their careers after school. Remember Saunders' best friend, Fairy? He was kind of surprised when Saunders told him he was rushing. And side note, Fairy himself was not a huge fan of fraternities. He had a whole stigma about them. And he always thought, you know what, you're the type of person that you need to join a fraternity. You are such a people person.

You can make so many connections on your own in school, after school. I mean, you're so friendly, you're so charismatic. Why do you need a fraternity? But when Sanda explained to him all the reasons that it made sense for his career, Ferri was like, okay, it's actually kind of smart. Like I get it, it's not this impulsive thing. You just woke up and you wanted to join a fraternity. You've put thought into it.

In 2018, Saunday was one of 10 new students who rushed or attempted to join Sanda was one of 10 new students who rushed or attempted to join RISM, and out of the 10, just three made it to the final stages of the quote recruitment process. A total of three pledges, if you will. Sanda and the two other pledges that are just known by their initials were the three. Now, I think at this point, they were just weeding out the ones that they didn't think would be a good fit. They were getting to know the 10 people, see if there are interest personalities, ability to socialize all these things where I match, and now they narrowed it down to three, and now the hazing begins. Inside note, the definition of hazing is the practice of putting

someone in physical or emotional distress as some sort of initiation test. The hazing would happen over the course of a few months? I know. Every fraternity is different. In the states, I believe it's two weeks of hazing. But here it is, like months, two months, basically. And then it would all lead to this chlamactic weekend, which is like initiation weekend, where they have this big ceremony for two, three days straight and you're just getting haze the entire weekend, no stops, no breaks, no

going home to sleep it off, you are just at the mercy of the fraternity that you want to join. And Zonda knew that he would be hazed. He went in thinking what everybody else was thinking. Okay, it's going to be uncomfortable. This is not going to be a good time. You are expected to drink alcohol, probably be pushed to your limits in some sort of sense or another, but nobody goes into this expecting to lose their life.

Sanda spoke to his friend Rob on campus, and Rob had rushed for another fraternity, and he was calming Sanda down like, you know, it's not that bad. I obviously can't tell you what my fraternity did, because that's a secret, but it's not that bad. It's like run of the mill, mental fortitude stuff, you know? They just want to see how disciplined you are, how much conviction you have in the fraternity. It's going to suck. I mean, don't give me wrong. It's going to suck for a little bit, but it's going to be worth it once you're initiated.

Sanda hated it. He hated the parties, which were all mandatory. Allegedly, Sanda was made to drink large amounts of alcohol and then drink the urine of the members of the frat as some sort of test. And if that kind of abuse wasn't bad enough, Sanda was also verbally abused and emotionally abused through racist remarks. On one occasion in October of 2018, only two months before the hazing ceremony that resulted in Sanda's death, the fraternity was hosting something that they call a cantas.

And according to sources, it's like a traditional activity where there's a huge amount of alcohol and people get together where they play games, sing traditional songs and drink beers. It's like a big party, honestly. So this specific cantas was held on October 8th, 2018 at this student association building that was now turned into a rentable party room named Albatross. And the pledges were forced to attend as usual. This fraternity is a rather rowdy party. Like they're crazy crowd. Everyone's getting black out drunk.

The pledges were forced to get down on their knees and the fraternity brothers would pour hard liquor down their throats. On a normal evening, the pledges would be forced to down seven pints of beer individually. Pints, not glasses. And I mean, just even think about the carbonation itself. Just think about like seven pints of sparkling water. And once everyone was beyond drunk, everyone was done partying, the pledges would be forced to clean up after the party, while they can barely stand because of how they were forced to be so drunk.

They're basically throwing up cleaning up their vomit, throwing up again, and then clean. Imagine how badly you just want to go to sleep. The room is spinning. You feel horrendous, you feel like shit, and you're being screamed at to hurry up and finish cleaning. Normally, all three pledges were at to hurry up and finish cleaning. Normally, all three pledges were forced to clean, but on this particular evening, the fraternity brothers had a different idea.

They decided on a whim. Sanders should be the only one to clean. An employee of the party room, who was also a fellow student, overheard the conversations and it was reported. The fraternity brothers turned to Santa and started calling him racial slurs with the hard-ar. They also said, and I quote, black people should work for the white. And the employee remembered calling out to Sanda and saying, dude, you can't let yourself

be talked to like that. And all Sanda could respond was, I can't do anything about it right now. Reportedly, the employee tried to tell the boys off, but he was just one guy facing off against 20 rich, entitled, powerful, racist men. Honestly, this guy was type of person out there. The fraternity brothers weren't even slightly embarrassed. They weren't even sorry for what they just said. It was so clear to the employee that they feared nobody. These are things that they're saying and doing in public.

They have no shame. They believe that they were above everything and everyone. They responded to the employee saying, yeah, well, mind your own damn business. So imagine, Sanda is desperately doing his best to be accepted because of his future. He's wasted because the boys forced him to drink seven points of beer, and now he has to clean up after all of them while they shout slurs and derogatory remarks at him. And he's only 20 years old. He's really still just a child. And despite this horrific incident, Sanda continued to attend the frat party nights and continued

to rush. And I know there's gonna be people out there that are confused like why would he still even want to be friends with these guys, be associated with these horrible racists that don't even respect him. Because he worked so hard to get to where he was, he had seen his dad give up everything for his education. His friend said, Sondar knew his dad did everything for him to give him a better future, and he always promised to live up to that. Sondar knew as a black man,

he would need more than just his merit and his own talent and skill to advance in his career. Had he been white, he may have never even thought to join this fraternity. Maybe he wouldn't believe he needed extra connections on top of his abilities. And had he been white, he needed extra connections on top of his abilities. And had he been white, he might not be dead. There is a strong racial element to this case, which I don't think can be ignored. So clearly the fraternity brothers are racist, but it goes much deeper than that.

In the 77 plus years of RISM, the fraternity, only two members were black or or African descent. And only one of the two is still alive. So one of them went through initiation in 2015 and Sanda was the second, who was accepted into the hazing. I did see some comments online about why he joined in all white fraternity in the first place, because most universities do have more black fraternities that have predominantly black men in them and stuff like that. But I feel like that's very victim-plainy to me, but to give further context, Sanda actually knew a few of the frat brothers from Rism. They were part of a big group that he would play soccer with. So it's not like he just randomly chose this all-white fraternity

and was like, that one, I want to be in that one. He was actually acquainted with some of them. And one of his kind of friends that he was slowly becoming closer and closer to while they played soccer, he was like, hey, I'm going to be rushing for rhythm this year. So Sanda is thinking, okay, well, if I'm going to be rushing, I might as well be a pledge with someone that I'm already kind of friendly with. So we can go through it together. So he chose Rizm. Besides, Sanda made it this far in initiation. He had his father's work ethic and determination. He just wasn't a quitter.

Then the initiation weekend began. This is what the fraternity calls the baptism. This was the final weekend of hazing, a full weekend of the pledges being at the hands of the fraternity members. Whatever they already went through would most likely pale in comparison to everything that they would have to do this weekend. December 4th was day one of the hazing weekend. The first task would be initiated at 4pm. Sanda and the other two pledges were forced to dress up as apostles, a reference to the fraternities' Catholic origin. So they're wearing like these long white, flowy robes, and they were sent out into the

city with a bundle of single roses, and their mission was to sell as many roses as possible, and whoever sold the least would endure a wide range of punishments. The punishments would include things like drinking rotten milk, eating bird food, and of course being force-fed copious amounts of alcohol. Sanda ended up last place for the selling of the roses' task. He sold 30 less roses than the other two initiates. And honestly, the way that they punished him for this first task, I was imagining it to be bad. Like I was imagining it to be like, drink a glass of this rotten milk.

Okay, punishment over, task number two, let's go. But this was a whole new level. Sanda was forced to drink so much alcohol that according to one of the brothers at the hazing, he was already so drunk he couldn't even speak. This is after the first task. This is only 7 p.m. that evening. So only 3 hours into the hazing. He was already so drunk he couldn't even speak. This is after the first task. This is only 7pm that evening, so only 3 hours into the hazing ceremony. I think again this is a very nuanced conversation, but a lot of netizens pointed out that Sanda's skin color could have also factored into why he wasn't able to sell as many roses

as the other two pledges. And now he was being punished to the max, to the extreme for it. And they went overboard to the fraternity brothers being drunk. Didn't mean anything. It didn't mean no. It didn't mean stop. They continued hazing Sanda. Sanda couldn't even speak. And the brothers started their second round of tests.

Side note, I am conflicted on how to reference the group. So maybe I'm just going to call them the group going forward. There's about 18 of them that are present throughout most of the hazing. Cause saying brothers, even though I'm saying fraternity brothers makes it sound like they're brothers to Sanda, which clearly they weren't, to call them men. I think would be a disservice to the real men out there

that would never do something like this. To call them boys would make it seem like they're minors that are incapable of making good choices. They're all legal adults. Keep that in mind. So I will call them the group. And if I do say brothers, that is in reference to fraternity brothers. So the group began their second round of tests.

The pledges were forced to their knees. This was the group's favorite position because of how easy it was to tilt the pledges heads back by pulling their hair and pouring alcohol straight down their throats. They got the pledges on their knees and started asking trivia questions. Now remember, the other two pledges, who were white, have not been punished yet, and I don't want to say that they had no alcohol in them, as I can't know for certain, but they weren't drunk. Sanda was so drunk he could barely talk.

Guess who's not going to answer the trivia questions well? Sanda was so drunk he could barely talk. Guess who's not going to answer the trivia questions well? Sanda. And if the boys got a question wrong, the group would pour gin, not beer, but gin, a hard liquor down their throats. This went on for about an hour. How quickly you get drunk on gin depends largely on your metabolism, but I would imagine for most people, a few shots of gin, you're feeling buzzed, you're feeling tipsy, or if you're like me, you're drunk. Sando was already super drunk, so he got most of his questions wrong, and by the end of the second round, he had consumed one and a half bottles of gin.

One and a half bottles, it wasn't specified what size the bottle was, but I'm guessing it wasn't one of those airplane shot bottles. It's likely one bottle was around a pint, which is about eight shots. And this is like, he has nothing in his stomach, he has an in, just non-stop. It's not even over the course of the whole night. At this point, Ksanda couldn't even walk by himself. And according to witnesses, all the color had drained from his face. He likely would have already thrown up a couple of times, and he was on the verge of dehydration and passing out.

Now, what's wild to me? Is all of this so far has been done in public. According to the statement made by one of the fraternity brothers present, they did task to the trivia question and the pouring of the gin down their throats on the pavement in front of a cafe in the town square. What? So they're literally hazing Sanda in public to the point that he is unable to even stand up on his own

and nobody alerted the authorities, nobody did anything. It wasn't even 9 p.m yet, so it's not like 3 a.m. where it's just a bunch of college kids being rowdy. Not even 9pm, and it was time for the third task. The third task was to survive the night. The pledges were dragged back to the fraternity house, and 18 members of the fraternity haze them for as long as they could. The pledges were made to guess how many beers they could chuck without passing out. Presumably, the one that could chug the most would be in first place,

even though there's no first place, like what do you get? Just being more drunk. The group started mixing hard liquor with beer, and just, the beer was intentional. The pledges were already so drunk, and it was only a matter of time that they threw up because of the carbonation of the beer, and straight up alcohol poisoning. Sanded downed would as believed to be about six to seven beers. This is already in addition to everything that he's already been forced to drink earlier today. So like the one and a half bottles of gin, he was forced to drink a bit more earlier than that. So this is a lot of alcohol. He is at

this point from what people say on the verge of blacking out. I mean, I think that he's already blacked out. Like, he's not out cold, if that makes sense. But I highly doubt that he's going to have much recollection of these events. I think he's blacked out. Sanda had thrown up multiple times. And now, after a seventh beer, he was knocked out cold. All three pledges were completely unconscious.

They were breathing, but nothing was going to wake them up at this state. Like, you could be kicking them and they would not wake up. Unsurprisingly, the group had their finishing touches tied. Even unconscious, the pledges couldn't escape the torture. According to the fraternity's tradition, if someone passes out at a party, they get urinated on. It is likely due to the fact that passing out is seen as weak. Or like, oh, you can't hold this liquor, blah, blah, blah, what do we need? So to feel even more masculine and honestly, just have this ego trip, the members of the fraternity would stand over the past out pledges and just

urinate all over them. It feels like such a power play, like so degrading for no reason at all. One huge piece of evidence that would be used later would be a deleted video of members of the group urinating on Sanda who is completely unresponsive. It was taken at 11.39pm that night. At around midnight, when the cantas was finally over, they hauled the three limp boys and threw them onto their respective beds. The only thing the group did was make sure the pledges were all laying on their sides, so,

you know, they didn't vomit while laying down choke and die. How nice of them. Besides that, the torture continued. The group cut off chunks of the pledges hair and smeared the rooms with Nutella and ketchup. The most vile thing though, the most inhumane part of all of this. I mean the part that I can't even wrap my head around though, is after forcing the pledges to drink lethal amounts of alcohol and dragging their unconscious bodies into this trashed bedrooms, the boys taped and cut off all the water supply. This meant that if one of the boys woke up and attempted to get some water to sober up and

rehydrate, there was absolutely no way they could even get a drop of water. To me, this is beyond insane. To think that forcing 20-year-olds to drink multiple bottles of gin and then depraving them of water for the next 24 hours would not result in death, to me that shows personally, in my opinion, this shows an incredible level of neglect and premeditation of abuse. And I would like to remind you, this is just day one of the hazing ceremony. And I would also like to remind you, these are college students from one of the hazing ceremony. And I would also like to remind you, these are college students from one of the most prestigious universities in the nation. You can't tell me they don't know that you get dehydrated from alcohol poisoning. Like you can't tell me that they didn't

think, oh, they're going to be dehydrated because they have alcohol poisoning. Let's cut off the water. Like that's such a random thing to cut off water supply. Let's move on to day two. The worst has yet to come. The next day, the 5th of December of 2018, at around 10.30 a.m., the fraternity members were ready to continue with the climax of the torturous ceremony. They woke up the three pledges. They gathered everyone into their cars and they started leaving the city into a small neighboring town. One of the fraternity brothers, his family owned a small cabin there. And it's about an hour outside the city and it's just surrounded by a thick forest,

which is perfect for hiding secrets. Before they get to the cabin though, the group had to make multiple pit stops. Now keep this in mind. They stopped at at least two different places. They drove an hour to the cabin and you're telling me after the events of last night not once did a single one of the 18 full grown adults say, hey guys, now that I'm thinking about it, maybe this sounds a little dangerous. Maybe we should tone it down. Maybe we should ease off a little bit.

Someone could get really hurt. Like not a single one of them, not once. During one of their pit stops, they actually ran into a professor who was out on their day out, and let's call her professor B. She recognized the group as being students from the university and as being members of the fraternity.

And one of the pledges seemed to be in need of help. She said that Sanda wasn't behaving normally. The other two pledges were fine, but Sanda seemed extremely out of it, kind of like a zombie, like he wasn't fully present, he could barely walk on his own, and she approached them and asked if everything was okay. She looked at Sanda and she was alarmed enough that she straight up told the group, I'm going to call the police. Wow.

But they all turned on their charm and said, Professor B, like the hazing ceremony is almost done. He's just a bit drunk and shocked, but we're going to go celebrate now and we're going to sober him up. He just needs a cold bath! The group completely dismissed her and ignored her concerns even though Santa could barely walk, he had to be supported by other fat members to even move around. So the professor B does nothing and at this point the group is like, oh, maybe we should split up into two groups because people really think that Santa's gonna die or something. So one group continued their way to the cabin, taking the three pledges with them, and the other group made their way to run the rest of the errands.

What kind of errand do we know? They went to a pet store to buy fish, life gold fish, eels, live eels, bird food, cakes, life mice, cat food, dog food. After that, they went to a foreign supermarket where they bought knowingly or unknowingly they bought the murder weapon. A gallon of fish sauce. Fish sauce is often used in Asian cuisine and it's put it simply, it's similar to soy sauce, but it's not. You cannot replace soy sauce with fish sauce and vice versa, but the general concept is the same. If you want to get technical with it, it's kind of an ingredient that you don't use too

much of. It's very high in sodium, but it does add this great umami flavor to a lot of dishes. The sodium aspect is very important in today's case, so let me give you some context. People, when they use soy sauce or fish sauce, you don't use a lot. It's like tiny bit. It's almost how you would season things with salt. Use a little bit and add that oomph. One tablespoon of fish sauce has about 1,670 milligrams of sodium, which is about 70%

of the recommended daily sodium intake. One tablespoon. But again, fish sauce is not something that you sip or drink. You use it sparingly to season dishes. You're not putting in a lot They bought a gallon size bottle of fish sauce. This would last in Asian home months. This is like Asian restaurant style level gallon size. That's crazy They bought duck eggs, sardines, baby clams, shrimp paste muscles, and a bunch of other things. And after their shopping spree,

the remaining members joined the others of the cabin at around 12 p.m. And once they arrived, the hazing activities immediately began. The initiates were made to dig three pits into the ground, one each, right next to each other until they formed. So they're like basically digging their own graves. And then in the end, they were forced to dig the graves together so it's one big ditch. Yeah. And that text messages

were shared between fraternity members' phones. And one fat member who wasn't present at the cabin texted, hey, how's it going over there guys? Updates? To which a fraternity brother responded, newcomers are starting to shovel. Santa is already for the trash, meaning like he's already for the rubbish bin. That's a figure of speech saying he's trashed. Like he's not doing well. Is that what it is?

Yeah. The other two are still okay. So let's get into what happened the rest of the day before Santa ended up in the emergency room. This is the story that police have pieced Sanda ended up in the emergency room. This is the story that police have pieced together with deleted videos in very limited evidence. Unfortunately, I don't think that we will ever know the full truth of what went down in

that forest. For hours, the three initiates were ordered into the now one giant ditch as they huddled together to stay warm. The other fraternity members, a total of 18 young adult men, stood around the ditch and filled it with ice, water, and live eels. This is December in Belgium. The temperatures were easily 30-40 degrees Fahrenheit. This is so reckless and so incredibly dangerous, you cannot tell me that there are, like, there's pre-meditation involved. You cannot tell me that this is just hazing.

But don't worry, the group was smart enough to know that the pledges would eventually need warmth. So what do they do? If you were cold, they would urinate on the pledges to keep them warm. Sanda at this point was so dehydrated and still drunk from last night, even if he wanted to get up and walk away,

he physically could not. There was a recovered video of Sanda lying in a ditch, and it's unclear when this day was, but fraternity members can be heard saying, Sanda, come on, Sanda, try and use those legs, those feet, come on, move man. The boys are asking him to stand, but he is so unconscious that two of the group are trying to get him up. He is not capable of even standing up on his own. I can't imagine that they didn't already know that he couldn't quit even if he wanted to.

He couldn't say he couldn't do this anymore. It was reported that the official way out of the hazing ceremony and forfitting your spot in the fraternity, you would have to ring a bell that would be off to the side of the ditch, or on the side during all these hazing tasks. Members of the fraternity stated, traditionally, during it, we set up the bells next to the water hole so that they can ring them at any point if they can't take it any longer. Whoever was in charge of setting up the bell,

allegedly forgot the bell. So for Sanda, there was no physical identifiers of freedom, escape, there was no way out, there was no way he could physically get up, nobody was listening to him, it was chaos, no he couldn't even speak well, there wasn't even a bell that he could try and reach for to symbolize, a guy's I'm not okay. Everyone knew that he was not okay. And he was at the mercy of 18 fraternity brothers.

And for hours, he was tortured in that ditch until the sun began to set. The theorized events seemed to suggest this. Once the pledges were in their ice-cold baths, a question game began. If pledges got the answer correct, they would be rewarded with a sip of water, or a gator raid, or an energy drink to get them pumping. However, if they got it wrong, they would have to eat or drink something disgusting. It's not clear exactly what Sanda consumed

during this part of the hazing task, but from later records for the most part, they were forcing him to consume large amounts of fish sauce and their urine. Some reports say Semen was also involved. Yeah, back to the hazing. After that, reportedly, the fraternity members took live eels and threw them into the water, and the pledges were sitting

with all these eels that were just running around them. They yelled at the pledges to catch the eels with their bare hands and then bite their heads off and swallow the decapitated heads. It is said all three pledges made it through that task. Hours passed by and at the time 7pm came around. They had been sitting in the freezing temperatures for over 6 hours. The group wasn't even close to being done.

The next task involved goldfish, live goldfish. The task was to swallow the live goldfish whole, alive, then drink a ton of fish sauce and attempt to throw up the goldfish whole. It is known that super salty things and super disgusting things can make you gag and throw up if you're repulsed enough. So the other two pledges, they were able to throw up and produce their whole goldfish, like bring it back out of their stomach. The only one left was Sanda, and instead of the fraternity brothers letting it go, they made him continue drinking fish sauce.

At this point, Sando was throwing up repeatedly, but every time there was no goldfish. So, Neat, I remind you, he's not winning the question games. He hasn't had probably a sip of water in the past 24 hours. He's beyond drunk dehydrated, throwing up which leads to further dehydration and being forced to consume copious amounts of fish sauce, which the sodium count on that is not even a drink. You're not even supposed to consume it like that. It's like being forced to consume tablespoons of just salt straight up.

You can't tell me that no one thought that that's dangerous. You can't tell me that these are just boys being boys and they didn't know how far this was going to go. You just can't tell me that. I think in middle school, I would have put two and two together. I think anyone capable of reading a nutrition label and realizing, oh, that is quite a bit of sodium, right? Especially these university students.

I think even without the nutrition label, the Center Fitch Loss alone indicates that this is high in sodium. The fact of the matter is, they knew what they were doing. I mean, that's my personal opinion. They turned off the water. They were giving out water as prices. Sips of water were prices. That suggests to me that they know the pledges are incredibly dehydrated. On top of these tasks of vile mutilations of live animals and torturous conditions for the three pledges, the senior members were also kicking them in the back, harassing them, and of course, urinating on them. Later a deleted video uncovered by forensic text during the investigation would show that

one of the members had actually defecated on one of the pledges. It is unclear who it was. It is unclear if they defecated into the pit or they actually physically defecated on the pledge. But either way, what? This went on the entire day till the sunset and the next phase of task was what preceded. The pledges had not consumed anything but alcohol and mutilated pets. Reportedly, one of the pledges, not the sober brothers, the pledges tried to

give Sanda a soda so he could ideally get his blood sugar up and hopefully must drop some energy. A senior fraternity member stopped him and said that's against the rules. The next phase included serving each pledge their first meal, one sausage each. However, each sausage was coated in toothpaste. And they were forced to eat this and endure ten more buckets of ice water thrown at them in the pits, as well as a firework that had been thrown into the pit where the pledges were sitting in the urine feces covered water. It was around this time the other two pledges.

Again, not the brothers pledges, the ones that were also being tortured, stepped in to check on unsandha. He was barely conscious. They pulled his body out of the pit next to the campfire and Sanda was cold to the touch I mean any warmth was completely devoid as his skin was all pale The two pledges and a few senior members laid him on the ground and they changed him so that he was in a pair of dry clothes They were the first to intervene at Sanda's rough state The other pledges put him on a plastic trash bag, kind of like a tarp, and moved him to

one of the cars where they turned on the heater. But they only kept him in there for so long. They moved him back next to the campfire, possibly because it was easier to get warmer faster next to a fire. What were the other fraternity brothers doing, like the 18 brothers, the sober ones? Watching and laughing. They would actually take pictures of Sanda while he was unconscious. A recovered photo later would show Sanda lying in

the weeds completely passed out and in a fetal position. Meanwhile the senior brothers took it upon themselves to begin the next task in the hazing. They're not done. The pledges were allegedly forced to bite off the heads of live mice and swallow them. So while the senior members are preparing for this next round of hazing tasks, a couple more of the brothers began to notice how bad of a state Sanda was in. So they finished the little live mice thing, and Sanda was still ice cold, his face was pale, and now he was like completely unresponsive. There was no way he was even responding to anything they're saying. They may sound to do the mice. Yeah.

This was when 20 year old Zanda Dia began to make very horrible noises. He was groaning in pain. Like it was slow, it was torturous, whatever he was feeling on the inside. So what happens when you take a lot of sodium, it's not just your tummy hurts or you're in desperate need of water, your brain starts to swell. And the pressure in your skull feels like it's going to explode. And that's actually what kills you when you overdose on sodium. It's not because your stomach is like, ooh, I'll chase you so much sodium.

Your brain pressure literally, your brain's gonna shut down. Imagine if someone is taking like a helium tank and just inserting it into your ears and turning it up, imagine the pressure that would cause. Your organs, the rest of your organs are starting to shut down, your brain is starting to shut down. He was clearly in a lot of pain. And at 8.57 p.m. on the 5th of December, one of the senior fraternity members finally called emergency services. Dispatch

confirmed, yeah, you should probably take him to the high-spirulphys unresponsive. So they didn't tell them about the hazing. They're like, hey, our friends just kind of laying here, gurgling and he's not making any noises. Which makes it seem like they took action, right? But it's important to note that it was two hours in between Sanda being unresponsive that they finally took him to the emergency room. Reportedly he was also bleeding from his mouth and nose. Probably due to the pressure.

They carried him to the car to transport him and reportedly they threw his unconscious body into the trunk. The trunk. Not the passenger seat where the heaters could help warm him up. They didn't put him in the back seat or laid him across their laps. No where where he could get warm. No where where they could keep an eye on him to make sure that he's not choking or stops breathing. I mean, isn't that what good friends do? Like, isn't that what good people do? Let alone a friend, let alone someone you know. I imagine if I saw a stranger in that state, I would not put them in the trunk.

Who puts anyone in the trunk? Except zero killers. Like who? Yeah. It's so, and this part really gets to me because later in the trial, these monsters keep crying and saying, we're so sad our friend died. You put your friend in the trunk. If that's the type of person you consider a friend, like, who are you?

You're a horrible person. I don't even know what to say. On the drive to the hospital, the boys in the car with Sanda and the trunk had reportedly been talking about the final stages of the hazing and how they would continue once you got out of the hospital. At 9.15 p.m., the group finally arrived. Sanda Dia was pulled out of the trunk. At 9.15 pm, the group finally arrived.

Saundidia was pulled out of the trunk and handed off to emergency medical staff at the doors of the ER. He would never make it out alive. Because medical staff didn't know exactly what happened and can't read minds and they can only function and work to treat symptoms and situations that you informed them of, the group just dropped them off and didn't let them know about anything. Didn't let them know about the hazing, the alcohol, the lack of water, the raw meat and his stomach, not the cups and cups of fish sauce. Nothing.

Sanda Dia didn't even stand a chance. Without the extra information from the fat members, doctors had no idea about the things that he had consumed. Had the fraternity members told them them maybe Sanda would have a chance. Maybe they would realize it was sodium. The only thing that Sanda's bloodstream wore, heart, liquor and salt. That was it. Like literally, that's it. There was literally nothing else in his system. Within 45 minutes, Sanda was transferred to the University Hospital of Antwerp, where

it was a bigger, better equipped hospital. This was when the doctors finally discovered the extremely high salt content in his blood stream. They also discovered that Sanda had suffered a cardiac arrest that sent him into a coma. But this was also when Sanda Dia, the 20-year-old university student, went into multiple organ failure. His organs were shutting down one by one. His parents were alerted of the condition and as the family rushed to be by their son's

side, the fraternity brothers rushed out. They rushed out and they got to cleaning. They won't clean up after a party, but apparently they'll clean up a crime scene. Senior members ordered the other members to clean up the whole cabin in the surrounding area. This included getting rid of all and every piece of evidence. They filled up the water holes with dirt to cover them up. They also went back to their frat houses to clean up the rooms of Nutella, ketchup that

they turned on the water supply that they had cut. When the police went back to the campsite, they would find absolutely nothing. It was as if nothing ever happened. They also deleted all pictures, videos and messages that they had on their phones that could be incriminating. And thankfully, these were recovered by investigators later on. Inside note, while Santa was being driven to the hospital, other fraternity members tried to get the remaining two pledges to finish their hazing. So the last stage of the initiation was for the pledges to lie naked in the forest for a few more hours.

However, at 10.39pm, the other two pledges were also hospitalized. There are very few details on what happened to them, but we do know that one spent about a day in there, and while the other one was held for about two days in the hospital. They too were victims. And then Saunders' body couldn't no longer hold up. He passed away. In his last moments, he was tortured, abused, and forced to mutilate animals, and he just endured so much pain.

His parents wouldn't get to hear him say, I love you one last time, they wouldn't get to see him smile one last time instead the fraternity members had waited so horrifically long to take him to the ER that he was already Unresponsive and in a coma by the time that they arrived At 20 years old the bachelor and master's first generation university student Sandadia passed away. A coroner's report would confirm that toxic salt levels caused by the excessive consumption of fish sauce was the leading cause of his death. The hospital notified the police and an investigation was quickly started.

The medical staff informed the parents and the police of the group who had brought Santa into the ER. And according to the police report, the Netherlands police arrived at the log cabin that morning December 6, 2018. There were no ditches, no pits found. Nothing, the cleanup was good. And while Santa was fighting for his life in the hospital, the police would later find records of WhatsApp messages that painted a very clear picture of all the cleanup. People were in the group chat of the fraternity saying things like delete everything, clean up the dorms, turn the water back on.

Should we delete WhatsApp totally? I mean, this had to happen at some point. We really just star wild monkeys with that hazing ceremony, aren't we? How can salt overdose be so brutal? That salt? Did the parents find out what happened? So they seem to know that sound is conditioned as grim and the chances of him making it alive are low, but even then the way that they're chatting about it seems rather casual. Just like, yeah, they said it's salt overdose. How can salt be that dangerous?

Man, we really are just too crazy with this hazing aren't we? It had to happen at some point. Thankfully, forensic science had just absolutely skyrocketed regarding technology crazy with this hazing aren't we? It had to happen at some point. Thankfully, forensic science had just absolutely skyrocketed regarding technology, and of course the police were able to seize the voice phones throughout the investigation and pull from these deleted photos and videos, proof of the events that had occurred that night, and I'm going to list the evidence piece by piece, and it's rough. Investigators were able to discover photos with timestamps that proved that Sanda had been laying on the ground in a fetal position for almost two hours before being taken to the emergency room.

It is unknown if Sanda would have survived had he received treatment within these two hours, but it feels like the group took away any chance of the survival. Seven hours earlier, one of them commented that Santa was ready for the trash bin, which usually means they are not okay, they are beyond not okay. Investigators also found from their interrogations that it was tradition that at the end of the hazing ceremony, all pledges are required to prove their loyalty to the club by sniffing a line of white powder. They all soar it was going to be flower, but something tells me it was going to be cocaine. Other texts from the WhatsApp that were publicized included, oh no, I'm really going to pay for this aren't I?

This came from the president and the pledge master of the fraternity. Another message expressed concern that the parents of the other two pledges would start a legal case against them. Other evidence revealed that Sanda fell hard a few times head on when he was forced to walk. Clear indication that he suffered from some sort of head trauma in addition to the two days of torture. The police also found a disgusting video on one of the brother's phones dated a month, a month after Sanda died, a month after. Because they weren't arrested. So a month after Sondha died,

the, a few of the brothers, the fraternity brothers, approached a black man without a home on the street. One of the boys holds out change as the man nods, acknowledging, like thanking them for placing the change on his jacket that was folded on the ground. So he places and then an arm reaches out into the frame to try and grab the man without a home's hat off his head. They're just terrorizing a man without a home on the street. And he kind of dodges because what are you doing, right? And while these events are taking place, the boys sing the lyrics, cut their hands, the Congo is ours. This is in reference to the fact that a former king of Belgium sought out

territory in Africa. They took control of land on the banks of the River Congo, which is present day the Democratic Republic of Congo. It's estimated that the Belgium king killed 10 to 15 million Africans. He forced the residents to work for free and when they didn't meet their daily quotas, he cut off their hands. A month after Sanda died, this is what they're doing to a black man on the street. This is what they're doing to a black man in general. This is, they filmed it because they thought it was, I don't know, funny? They were proud of themselves.

Does that show intent though? You think that's, can use that or no? It wasn't able to be used fully, but to netizens, I mean, it's clear intent You know, I did see some people that argued is race really a part of this is race not a part of it It was a part of it. Are you kidding me right now? Like it's a part of it and this video if this video doesn't confirm to you that race is part of it I Don't know. Maybe it's time to pick up a reading comprehension class. So much evidence is coming out.

However, it should be noted that the investigation would take a long time. The group they were less than cooperative. So the police had to constantly meet their resistance with warrants, court orders. The group had connections, and if they didn't, they had daddy's money. In fact, after news spread of Sanda's death, a secret meeting was held. At the home of a father to one of the 18 men, who happened to be a well-established, well-connected attorney. A new kind of pact was created, a new secret society of sorts, if you will, between the halves and the half-nots.

We can never really know the conversations held in that emergency meeting, but we can speculate, and I imagine that they made some sort of pact. They were sworn to secrecy, and they were told, if we do this, we can get away with it. I think that this story I'm about to share gives you a clear picture on what kind of parents were dealing with. Some say out of remorse, some say out of fear, some say out of sheer stupidity, in a strange pizved, there was a conversation amongst the fraternity members to send a letter to Sondas parents. Reportedly, the fraternity members and some of the parents, they wanted at least attempt to do one right thing by apologizing and telling Saunders parents that they were also experiencing their worst nightmare, which like what kind of apology is that?

But the lawyer slash father that seemed to be leading this whole discussion Crushed the idea said that if they legally incriminate themselves, they would absolutely do know such thing And the rest of the parents instead of thinking no, this is an opportunity to really teach my kid a lesson in life, to make them learn. And I mean, I don't think they can ever come back from this, but to try and be a good person from now on or handle this like a good person would instead of doing that, they're like, oh, yeah, you're right. We don't want to legally incriminate ourselves, never mind. Forget apologizing to anyone's parents. The rest of the parents and group quickly

agree to prohibit any of them from communicating with the police, Saunders' parents, and practically the outside world. They also disappeared online. They disappeared from Facebook, Instagram, and even LinkedIn. From here on out, they would only be speaking through their attorneys. You would think that none of that would matter though,

because at this point, a 20-year-old bright college student died, and his autopsy exposed two days of torture that he had an abuse that he had experienced. You would think that the police and the government and the netizens they wouldn't care about some hush-hush meeting amongst 18 rich families. The evidence was right there, and you would think that they would investigate the allegations of racism after finding out about previous racial incidents,

and even after that racial incident. And just the sheer fact that Sanda was one of the two black students and the whole 77 long history of the fraternity, and he died, you would think that people would care, right? Five years past, and somehow the 18 men who stood by and subjected him to the torture to almost war crime-level torture, they continued to evade justice.

And it's not like the press didn't know about the story. News spread about the black pledge that had died at the hands of 18 white men, but the news articles never mentioned race. They chucked his death up to a horrible accident that occurred during hazing. I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of the families had a role in the framing of the narrative of this case, allegedly. However, the school did state that they will be holding an internal disciplinary hearing

for the members of the incident. At first, they stated that all members, all 18 men, would be suspended from the university. They did not do that. Instead, they replaced the suspension with get this, 30 hours of community service each, and an essay on the history of hazing. This is crazy. This is like how you punish like a kid that's like skipping class. Yeah, stole a cookie from the cookie jar. I'd rather them not do anything at all. Like this is a slap in the face. Like the fact that they're doing this and being like this is enough for someone's

life. This is enough to teach them a lesson about killing someone. Like it's a slap in the face. The university was essentially, hey don't do that. In order to teach you not to be racist and kill people, why don't you write an essay? The boys were allowed back to school. They were allowed to continue their education. They were allowed to work towards graduating. Something that they had stolen from Sanda. Something Sanda had worked so hard for. It's essentially, it seemed like the school was standing by the group, which is ironic, because the university

self-advertises themselves as, quote, the home to a tradition of academic excellence and ethical integrity that serves as the backbone of everything we do. Side note, I don't think I mentioned this. The school actually knew about the racial incident that happened two months prior to Santa's death in the party room, where they were calling Santa the hard and word. They knew about that. A few administrators were

told by the employee that worked there that was also a fellow student and they didn't do anything about it. Yeah. Thankfully other teachers heard of the news and decided to do something. Twenty university professors wrote an open letter demanding stronger punishments for the group. The school said that they would open another investigation into the case. But the results were grim. They took like three years to investigate it. Most of the members had already graduated at this point.

After three years, only seven of them were still in school and they were finally expelled. But maybe that just goes to show how much power these families held. Most of the parents were established lawyers. One of the group's dad was a very high up judge. And many people firmly believe that the 18 members got such light punishments because they all came

from very wealthy and influential families. And the case wouldn't even be seen by the court system until the end of 2020. They even had to go to a neighboring province for this case because the families had so much influence in that province. They'd be like, okay, there's no way we're gonna get a fair trial.

We gotta go. We gotta go to a different town. The criminal investigation of Sandra Diaz death concluded in July 2020 with a recommendation that the members would be charged with negligent homicide, humiliation, and premeditated administration of dangerous substances. The judges have evidence of calculated cause in many instances of racism and inhumane treatment towards Sanda. The 18 members were now scheduled to appear in court to finally start the trial September 4th of 2020.

However, at the last minute, two defense attorneys filed a request for additional investigations. They're like, you need to investigate our clients more. Which is weird, right? Why would they do that? Especially in this case, it doesn't make sense. It is speculated they did this on purpose as a delay tactic. It is important to note the political climate in 2020.

The murder of George Floyd sparked one of the greatest and whitest spread civil rights movements the world had seen. It's likely the defense attorneys wanted to push the trial off until the climate quote quieted down a bit. The case did not get attention in 2020 because the trial didn't happen and it really wouldn't get that much international attention until 2023, like a month ago, after YouTuber acids video. Now in 2020, people in Belgium really did care though, it just wasn't, not that they care more now, but I think it just wasn't spread. The story wasn't spread. A lot of people protested. Hashtag Justice for Sanda was circulating in Belgium on social media.

And a lot of Belgians were worried that these people were so well connected and because nothing is happening to them and because the court stated that they are anonymous throughout the entire trial, their names have not been released, they can all occupy positions of power in society and in the legal system just like their mothers and fathers. Sanda's uncle said this was not an accident. They thought he's just some black guy. We're powerful and nothing can happen to us. What would have happened if Sanda were white? Eventually the protests died down and everyone held their breaths hoping that justice would be served. The trial would finally commence in 2022, four years after Sondas death, and people were watching. They watched as all 18 men arrived at the courthouse alongside

their lawyers, they had their hoods that pat shielding their faces, every one of them had face masks on. The prosecutors pointed out that all 18 defendants were present during the goldfish and fish sauce task. They stated, it is therefore strange to note that none of the defendants question the excessive administration of the fish sauce to the pledges, who would have been weakened and numb due to the baptismal activities that had been done up to that point in the cold. The large bottle of four and a half liters of fish sauce had been noticed by every defendant present today.

None of those present took any action to stop the excessive administration of the fish sauce. However, there are a lot of infuriating moments in the trial we got to quickly talk about. One of the defense attorneys stood up and they responded because you know the question was why did San de Dio, one of the only black people in the entire fraternity, why was he killed during hazing? And the defense attorney responded, it has nothing to do with color and everything to do with physique, weight and height. Basically blaming Sandad's death on his own body weight and height. Another lawyer added, my client also wants to be clear.

Sanda Diaz skin color played no role in this file. Sanda was one of them, one of their good friends. They did not see his color. One of his good friends? Do you do that to one of your good friends? Do you throw them into the trunks? Do you torture them for two days straight? If not months?

Do you like throw racial slurs at them? Like one of your good friends, right? Another defense attorney stated, there was no intention to harm Sanda, and my client was unaware that the amount of fish sauce the pledges would ingest could be dangerous. The purpose of hazing was not to humiliate, but to build a bond of friendship

by going through a hazing ritual. My client now realizes that these rituals are outdated. Side note, I don't know if people care about this, but did you guys know Hazing started because of women and gay people? What do you mean? Oh yeah, so back then when universities started having fraternities around,

they were more focused on academics and not saying that they're not now, but most of them were like academic secret societies of men in universities, and it would be all the majors kind of congregating together. So business majors would join like a business fraternity and they would all just bond with each other. And then in the 20s, 1920s, women were allowed in college and people started more men started flocking to fraternities because they hated femininity taking over their campus. That's how they saw it. All these women on campus were viled.

This was no longer a manly institution. So they started going to these secret, exclusive men-only clubs, aka fraternities, right? And they would escape women that way. But then, then homophobia came around. And people were like, wait, a group of men, young men, living together, non-stop hanging out with each other, sharing secrets together,

color coordinating their outfits, having secret hand shakes, that sounds a bit gay to me. So they became obsessed with this hyper-masculinity idea, and so they started doing hazing almost to show, hey, we're so masculine, we do these crazy dangerous things to be even part of this group, so we're not gay, we're like the manliest of the men. Yeah. That's what anthropologists have believed. So I mean, hear me out, it's kind of crazy when you think about it. Like they were so terrified of women and then gay people, so just food for thought. And then I think now it's just been grandfathered in.

It's just become a tradition that none of these, I'm not saying now, it's about homophobia or about misogyny, but that's kind of how it seems to have started. It started around the same time, so a lot of anthropologists believe it's because of that. Now, but all that aside, back to the trial, Santa's mother also spoke out and she said for the past half a decade, the five years,

she feels like it's on her. She wonders why he would take part in a fraternity. She feels like maybe she pushed him towards it unknowingly, or maybe she was too strict, or not strict enough, or she just constantly guessed every little thing that she said to him. Everything that would have made him feel like he needed to do this. The defense attorneys had little sympathy for her. They kept arguing that none of the defendants could have known how dangerous fish sauce was. They said because it's readily available in a store that they can't be judged for it. If you can buy it in a store, how are you supposed to know it's dangerous?

That's literally like- You're kind of a logic, is that? They also pointed out the defendants themselves under one the hazing ceremony years before and they came out with no health problems, which fine, but did they mention how much Sanda was forced to drink? The other two pledges weren't even forced to drink as much. And then when those arguments grew old, the defendants cried about how sad they were that this happened to their good friend.

Imagine Sanda's friends and family hearing these guys get up there and cry about how sad they were at the happened to their good friend. Imagine Saundas friends and family, hearing these guys get up there and cry about how sad they were at the loss of their friend. Saundas dad responded, I heard that my son was your friend. Everyone knows that's a lie. I'll tell you why. Friends, don't let you down. Five years after Saundas death,

the court declared all 18 defendants guilty. On May 26, 2023, all 18 students were each found guilty of involuntary manslaughter and degrading treatment, but justice was not served. Their punishments came down to 200 hours community service, some people got 225, 250, or 300 hours of community service. That's it? Oh, and they had to pay a fine total 15,000 euros to the family. What?

Yeah. Yeah, and not that money makes things better, but money is something that can try and help, that can try and provide therapy for Sundance family, that can try and do something, that can even just inflict pain on some of these influential families. But 15,000 euros and community service, it's also not going to stay on their criminal

records. They also can stay anonymous. That's why the YouTuber acid is actually facing jail time right now for exposing their names. No way. Yes, because legally they're allowed to stay anonymous. And I just want to make it clear, the D.F.A.M.L.I. was not fighting for money. In fact, the D.F.A.M.L.I.M.L.I.M.L.I.M.L.I.M.L.I.M.L.I.M.L.I.M.L.I.M.L.I.M.L.I.M.L.I.M.L.I.M.L.I.M.L.I.M.L.I.M.L.I.M.L.I.M.L.I.M.L.I.M.L.I.M.L.I.M.L.I.M.L.I.M.L.I.M.L.M.L.M.I.M.L.M.L.M.L.M.L.M.L.I.M.L.M.L.M.L.M.L.M.L.M.L.M.L.M.L.M.L.M.L.M.L.M.L.M.L.M.L.M.L.M.L.M.L.M.L.M.L.M.L.M.L.M.L.M.L.M.L.M.L.M.L.M.L.M.L.M.L.M.L.M.L.M.L.M.L.M.L.M.L.M.L.M.L.M.L.M.L.M.L.M.L.M.L.M.L.M.L.M.L.M.L.M.L.M. die. That's what they wanted. But instead, they got 200 hours of community service,

no answers, and 15,000 euros. And again, I'm upset that the court didn't order more damages to be paid. It's not because the D.F. Family wanted more money, but these white, rich, eliteist men were also allowed to remain anonymous without a tainted record. And 15,000 euros, it's... Yeah, yeah, they basically got it way. Yeah,

completely. I don't the students families have also fought to make sure that there's no criminal record. I mean, I don't even know what to say. One of the defense attorneys, John Mays, praised the judge's decision as being balanced and well-reasoned. Sandra's father would later tell a magazine that he believed discrimination was indeed involved. He said, Ruzgam is an elite social club, a student club, and Sanda was someone who didn't fit their mold.

His dad didn't have a big yard, or a fancy driveway, or even a house of his own, and Sanda just wasn't good enough for them. He called the ruling a slap in the face. He said, Sanda did not get the respect he deserves. The case started a conversation about racism, class injustice, elitism, and needless to say, there have been national and international

public outcries about this case now. The injustice, I mean, the social injustice, the racism, the elitism, it's vile. There were silent protests and demonstrations across Belgium that made its way to the Netherlands. Protesters stated in Belgium, if you take the bus without a ticket, you get a higher fine than that. Another protestor stated, a man from Antwerp was sentenced to seven months in prison for stealing a pair of sneakers, two bottles of whiskey and a bottle of cognac, worth 125 euros. There was another person sentenced

to 12 months in prison for stealing offerings from churches. A seven year old woman was sentenced to one month in prison for stealing apples. Another protester stated, justice is just not for everyone in Belgium, is it? And you're saying that YouTuber is facing jail time? Yeah.

Jail time. He's facing jail time. Exactly. The question that everyone has in their minds is how would the courts have reacted if the situation had been reversed? If a white upper class student had tragically lost their lives during a hazing ritual inflicted by individuals with a migrant minority background. Would they have received such a lenient conviction, or would they have been painted as these vile animals that ripped this kid apart?

Because that's what they did. And last month after the public outcry, the Supreme Court of Justice in Belgium is now considering launching an investigation into whether class justice played a part in this, which means that just maybe social media and the demonstrations are going to make an impact. Yeah, and meanwhile, YouTuber asset is facing two years in jail for even talking about this incident and naming some of these perpetrators. People find it ridiculous that if he is punished, it'll likely be higher than what the fraternity brothers received.

Say no. Freaking crazy. Like, how do you call that justice? Like, yeah. After acid named dropped some of the perpetrators, the defense attorney came out to state, people who were not present in the courtroom, who have not followed the process, who have not been there for days, who have not tasted the emotion, or have not seen the statement, they want to play judge afterwards. They want to shout that it was an unjust verdict.

But here we are now. We're going to play judge ourselves and let people know their name so that they will be followed all their lives. Come on. If you don't already feel so disgusted, a picture also resurfaced during all of this. Former fraternity brothers were dressed in the KKK outfits

in 2007. And finally, with all the backlash, Rizm has disbanded, but I'm not sure that that's quite fixing the problem. Many netizens feel saddened at the grim reality of racism around the world. Many believe if Sanda was a black student, he wouldn't have even thought to join the fraternity.

Maybe he wouldn't felt like he needed to. And not only that, in the fraternity 70 year history, Sanda was the second pledge of black or African descent, and netizens speculated that perhaps, for the fraternity quote, one was enough for them. Because they would never have a second official fraternity quote, one was enough for them, because they would never have a second official fraternity brother of color. Instead, Sanda was tortured to death for two days while the 18 fraternity brothers subjected him to abuse.

Do you remember Fairy? Sanda's best friend since kindergarten. After this, he reminisced about his life filled with just memories of Saundah. They were attached at the hips and they were young. And he said, Saundah was my best friend. He was my soulmate. And I hope that fairy makes it to Japan.

And I hope that Saundah can experience it with him and spirit, just like the two promise each other when they were little boys. And that is it for today's episode. Let me know your thoughts. I mean this was such a heavy, heavy case and I know a lot of people are talking about it online. So please let's talk about this case. I think this is something that can really shape justice going forward in Belgium and just in university campuses around the world. And please stay safe and I will see you guys on Sunday for the mini-show. Bye.