From The Age and Sydney Morning Herald, Trial by Water is a new investigative podcast series about Robert Farquharson, who has been locked up for decades for an unthinkable crime: murdering his three sons in a dam on Father’s Day, 2005.

Now scientists and lawyers are asking the question: did we get it wrong? And is this man in prison for a crime he didn’t commit?

Episode 1 will arrive on Saturday, June 1.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Special bonus episode. A human source risks his life by becoming a double agent. His existence and his crucial role in helping police know which syndicate members to shadow before the Pong Su's April 2003 arrival has remained a secret until now.

The Last Voyage of the Pong Su is brought to you by the newsrooms of The Age & Sydney Morning Herald. If you’re enjoying this series, leave a review on iTunes and recommend us to a friend.

Reporter - Richard Baker (Get in touch: [email protected] )
Executive Producer - Rachael Dexter
Narrative Consultant - Kate Cole-Adams
Consulting Producer - Siobhan McHugh
Music & Composition - Vicki Hansen
Sound design & mixing - John Greenfield
Script translations - Yan Zhuang
Production assistance - Margaret Gordon
Head of Audio - Tom McKendrick

Support the show.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Nicholas Martin had a very important role in the Pong Su story, but it’s one he’s never talked publicly about until now. 

Nicholas was a navy clearance diver who boarded the Pong Su with the SAS troops. After clearing the ship for improvised explosive devices, Nicholas took command of the bridge and working with one of the captured North Koreans steered the Pong Su back to Sydney Harbour.

In this interview you’ll also hear about what it’s like to skipper a navy patrol boat in Australia’s northern water at the age of 20, and what it takes to be a clearance diver. 

The Last Voyage of the Pong Su is brought to you by the newsrooms of The Age & Sydney Morning Herald. A new episode of this 10-part series drops on Tuesdays.

If you’re enjoying this series, leave a review on iTunes and recommend us to a friend.

Reporter - Richard Baker (Get in touch: [email protected] )
Executive Producer - Rachael Dexter
Narrative Consultant - Kate Cole-Adams
Consulting Producer - Siobhan McHugh
Music & Composition - Vicki Hansen
Sound design & mixing - John Greenfield
Script translations - Yan Zhuang
Production assistance - Margaret Gordon
Head of Audio - Tom McKendrick

Support the show.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In episode 5 of 'The Last Voyage of the Pong Su', we hear from Ben Pronk and Tim Curtis - two men who were part of the Special Air Service Regiment tasked with a dramatic capture of the Pong Su.

In this extended interview you’ll hear about what happened before, during and after the day of this dramatic operation - as well  as their memories of the infamous Tampa affair of 2001 and conflict overseas.

Check out Ben and Tim's own podcast 'The Unforgiving60'.

The Last Voyage of the Pong Su is brought to you by the newsrooms of The Age & Sydney Morning Herald. A new episode of this 10-part series drops on Tuesdays.

If you’re enjoying this series, leave a review on iTunes and recommend us to a friend.

Reporter - Richard Baker (Get in touch: [email protected] )
Executive Producer - Rachael Dexter
Narrative Consultant - Kate Cole-Adams
Consulting Producer - Siobhan McHugh
Music & Composition - Vicki Hansen
Sound design & mixing - John Greenfield
Script translations - Yan Zhuang
Production assistance - Margaret Gordon
Head of Audio - Tom McKendrick

Support the show.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode 10. After 16 years, the truth finally emerges about the tight bond between three of the key players in the heroin import and their ties to North Korea.

The Last Voyage of the Pong Su is  a 10-part series brought to you by the newsrooms of The Age & Sydney Morning Herald. 

If you enjoyed this series, leave a review on iTunes and recommend us to a friend.

To read more, and to watch the videos referenced in this episode, head to our websites.

Our supporters power our newsrooms and are critical for the sustainability of news coverage. Click on the links to subscribe to The Age or The Sydney Morning Herald.

Reporter - Richard Baker (Get in touch: [email protected] )
Executive Producer - Rachael Dexter
Narrative Consultant - Kate Cole-Adams
Consulting Producer - Siobhan McHugh
Music & Composition - Vicki Hansen
Sound design & mixing - John Greenfield
Script translations - Yan Zhuang
Assistant Producer - Margaret Gordon
Head of Audio - Tom McKendrick

Actors:
Chin Kwang Lee is played by Andy Song
Kiam Fah Teng is played by Anthony Ting
Yau Kim Lam is played by Jason Chong
Casting - Catapult Casting

Additional audio from: CNN

The reading you heard at the start of this episode was an excerpt from The Truth the Dead Know by Anne Sexton - read by Jason Chong.

Support the show.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode 9. Nerves are frayed on all sides as a marathon courtroom case concludes. The Australian government plans for a spectacular end to the Pong Su.

The Last Voyage of the Pong Su is brought to you by the newsrooms of The Age & Sydney Morning Herald. A new episode of this 10-part series drops on Tuesdays.

If you’re enjoying this series, leave a review on iTunes and recommend us to a friend.

To read more, and to watch the videos referenced in this episode, head to our websites.

Our supporters power our newsrooms and are critical for the sustainability of news coverage. Click on the links to subscribe to The Age or The Sydney Morning Herald.

Reporter - Richard Baker (Get in touch: [email protected] )
Executive Producer - Rachael Dexter
Narrative Consultant - Kate Cole-Adams
Consulting Producer - Siobhan McHugh
Music & Composition - Vicki Hansen
Sound design & mixing - John Greenfield
Script translations - Yan Zhuang
Assistant Producer - Margaret Gordon
Head of Audio - Tom McKendrick

Actors:
Chin Kwang Lee is played by Andy Song
Kiam Fah Teng is played by Anthony Ting
Yau Kim Lam is played by Jason Chong
Casting - Catapult Casting

Additional audio from: Channel Nine and the AFL.

The reading you heard at the start of this episode was from Law of the Jungle by Rudyard Kipling - read by Jason Chong. 

Support the show.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode 8. Australian prosecutors travel to Seoul to meet North Korean defectors as they try to understand the power structure on board the Pong Su. While laboratory results tell police there is something different about the Pong Su’s heroin.

The Last Voyage of the Pong Su is brought to you by the newsrooms of The Age & Sydney Morning Herald. A new episode of this 10-part series drops on Tuesdays.

If you’re enjoying this series, leave a review on iTunes and recommend us to a friend.

To read more, and to watch the videos referenced in this episode, head to our websites.

Our supporters power our newsrooms and are critical for the sustainability of news coverage. Click on the links to subscribe to The Age or The Sydney Morning Herald.

Reporter - Richard Baker (Get in touch: [email protected] )
Executive Producer - Rachael Dexter
Narrative Consultant - Kate Cole-Adams
Consulting Producer - Siobhan McHugh
Music & Composition - Vicki Hansen
Sound design & mixing - John Greenfield
Script translations - Yan Zhuang
Assistant Producer - Margaret Gordon
Head of Audio - Tom McKendrick

Actors:
Chin Kwang Lee is played by Andy Song
Kiam Fah Teng is played by Anthony Ting
Yau Kim Lam is played by Jason Chong
Casting - Catapult Casting

Additional audio from: Associated Press, ABC news America and Richard Rogers.

The poem you heard at the start of this episode is called I go down to the shore by Mary Oliver - read by Jason Chong.

Support the show.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode 7. The legal battle begins to save the Pong Su crew and a special relationship builds between a suburban Melbourne solicitor and a mysterious North Korean man who has everyone guessing.

The Last Voyage of the Pong Su is brought to you by the newsrooms of The Age & Sydney Morning Herald. A new episode of this 10-part series drops on Tuesdays.

If you’re enjoying this series, leave a review on iTunes and recommend us to a friend.

To read more, and to watch the videos referenced in this episode, head to our websites.

Our supporters power our newsrooms and are critical for the sustainability of news coverage. Click on the links to subscribe to The Age or The Sydney Morning Herald.

Reporter - Richard Baker (Get in touch: [email protected] )
Executive Producer - Rachael Dexter
Narrative Consultant - Kate Cole-Adams
Consulting Producer - Siobhan McHugh
Music & Composition - Vicki Hansen
Sound design & mixing - John Greenfield
Script translations - Yan Zhuang
Assistant Producer - Margaret Gordon
Head of Audio - Tom McKendrick

Actors:
Chin Kwang Lee is played by Andy Song
Kiam Fah Teng is played by Anthony Ting
Yau Kim Lam is played by Jason Chong
Casting - Catapult Casting

Additional audio from: Channel Nine, NBC and Asia Brief.

The reading you heard at the start of this episode was an excerpt from Diving into the Wreck by Adrienne Rich - read by Jason Chong.

Support the show.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode 6. Was Kim Jong Il’’s secretive money-making agency behind the Pong Su heroin importation? A high-profile North Korean defector speaks out.

Age & SMH subscribers can listen to an extended interview with former clearance diver Nicholas Martin here: https://bit.ly/2Kackvx

The Last Voyage of the Pong Su is brought to you by the newsrooms of The Age & Sydney Morning Herald. A new episode of this 10-part series drops on Tuesdays.

If you’re enjoying this series, leave a review on iTunes and recommend us to a friend.

To read more, and to watch the videos referenced in this episode, head to our websites.

Our supporters power our newsrooms and are critical for the sustainability of news coverage. Click on the links to subscribe to The Age or The Sydney Morning Herald.

Reporter - Richard Baker (Get in touch: [email protected] )
Executive Producer - Rachael Dexter
Narrative Consultant - Kate Cole-Adams
Consulting Producer - Siobhan McHugh
Music & Composition - Vicki Hansen
Sound design & mixing - John Greenfield
Script translations - Yan Zhuang
Assistant Producer - Margaret Gordon
Head of Audio - Tom McKendrick

Actors:
Chin Kwang Lee is played by Andy Song
Kiam Fah Teng is played by Anthony Ting
Yau Kim Lam is played by Jason Chong
Casting - Catapult Casting

Additional audio from: Time Magazine, C-SPAN, Alux.com, Vidello Productions, NBC, Associated Press, Sky News UK, Journeyman pictures, Channel 10, Channel 9, ABC, ABC America and CNN

The reading you heard at the start of this episode was an excerpt from the poem Midnight Sun by Kim Hyesoon - read by Jason Chong.

Support the show.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode 5. A dramatic chase at sea unfolds to stop a fleeing Pong Su. The North Korean crew fears the worst for their Master after they are told by their superiors in Pyongyang to stop and fight.

Age & SMH subscribers can listen to an extended interview with former SAS soldiers Ben Pronk and Tim Curtis here: https://bit.ly/36s4szb

The Last Voyage of the Pong Su is brought to you by the newsrooms of The Age & Sydney Morning Herald. A new episode of this 10-part series drops on Tuesdays.

If you’re enjoying this series, leave a review on iTunes and recommend us to a friend.

To read more, and to watch the videos referenced in this episode, head to our websites.

Our supporters power our newsrooms and are critical for the sustainability of news coverage. Click on the links to subscribe to The Age or The Sydney Morning Herald.

Reporter - Richard Baker (Get in touch: [email protected] )
Executive Producer - Rachael Dexter
Narrative Consultant - Kate Cole-Adams
Consulting Producer - Siobhan McHugh
Music & Composition - Vicki Hansen
Sound design & mixing - John Greenfield
Script translations - Yan Zhuang
Extra production - Tim Mummery
Head of Audio - Tom McKendrick

Actors:
Chin Kwang Lee is played by Andy Song
Kiam Fah Teng is played by Anthony Ting
Yau Kim Lam is played by Jason Chong
Casting - Catapult Casting

Additional audio from: Channel Seven

The reading you heard at the start of this episode was an excerpt from The Old man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway- read by Jason Chong.

Support the show.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode four. Tension among the Asian crime syndicate members is at breaking point, while Australian police keep finding their best laid plans are going astray.

A dead body on the beach throws everyone off their game.

The Last Voyage of the Pong Su is brought to you by the newsrooms of The Age & Sydney Morning Herald. A new episode of this 10-part series drops on Tuesdays.

If you’re enjoying this series, leave a review on iTunes and recommend us to a friend.

To read more, and to watch the videos referenced in this episode, head to our websites.

Our supporters power our newsrooms and are critical for the sustainability of news coverage. Click on the links to subscribe to The Age or The Sydney Morning Herald.

Reporter - Richard Baker (Get in touch: [email protected] )
Executive Producer - Rachael Dexter
Narrative Consultant - Kate Cole-Adams
Consulting Producer - Siobhan McHugh
Music & Composition - Vicki Hansen
Sound design & mixing - John Greenfield
Script translations - Yan Zhuang
Extra production - Tim Mummery
Head of Audio - Tom McKendrick

Actors:
Chin Kwang Lee is played by Andy Song
Kiam Fah Teng is played by Anthony Ting
Yau Kim Lam is played by Jason Chong
Casting - Catapult Casting

The reading you heard at the start of this episode was an excerpt from The Wasteland by T.S Eliot, read by Jason Chong.

Support the show.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.