By Seah Chiang Nee
With Singapore allowing in a million foreigners in the past 10 years, it just had to happen. Recent police crackdowns on hot spots was an eye-opener on how deep organised crime has dug in
Do not be afraid of the police! They only have four men, and we have so many; don’t be afraid!
With these chilling words, a hostile mob of 200 set upon four policemen conducting a night raid on an illegal gambling den.
Such a challenge to the police is extremely rare in tightly-controlled Singapore, where public graffiti remains a caning offence.
It has shocked the public and perhaps even the authorities as well.
In a scene reminiscent of the days of secret societies, the unruly crowd shouted obscenities and threw bottles, stones and chairs at the four detectives.
It occurred when the policemen were carrying out raids in the red-light area of Geylang.
One detective was kicked in the mouth and another in the head and back.
The violence, which lasted 15 minutes, prompted a policeman to draw his pistol and fire a warning shot.
Several rioters were detained, and two of them brought to trial recently. One got 15 months in jail, and the other is out on bail pending appeal.
The near-riot occurred two years ago, but the details – and seriousness – only emerged in a recent district court sentencing report.
The story has been given a wide berth by the mainstream papers, but is widely discussed online.
The response of the police was strong and swift.
For months, they conducted a series of large-scale raids in Geylang, Orchard Road and other hot spots, including the following:
> Mar 14: About 400 police and anti-vice officers swept nightspots, arresting 175 people for various criminal activities.
> Feb 7: A multi-agency operation, the second in as many weeks, nabbed more than 158 people for gang-related activities, immigration offences and drug-taking.
>Jan 23: Some 170 people were arrested in a massive 14-hour operation at Geylang, led by the Criminal Investigation Department. Some 200 officers took part.
With Singapore allowing in a million foreigners in the past 10 years, citizens had been expecting crime to spiral in their city.
So far, it has not happened. In fact, overall crime fell by 4% last year, police headquarters announced.
However, the huge influx of foreigners, many of them loosely screened, and rising unemployment have combined to create pockets of crime in several parts of the island.
Offences like prostitution (involving tens of thousands of overseas women), drugs, gambling, loan sharking and peddling contraband cigarettes and pornographic DVDs, became prevalent.
One such place where most of these could be found is Geylang, renowned for good food and the sex trade.
The audacity of the attack on the police was an eye-opener on how extensive things have deteriorated.
“Where did the 200 gangsters come from?” asked a young Singaporean.
“I thought the big triads have long been wiped out!”
A writer using the pen name Strategy commented, “I think this incident can be quite a serious sign and warning. The Geylang area might be a bit out of control nowadays.”
Singapore remains a generally safe city and people can still walk the streets without fear of being robbed or attacked.
The drastic population rise has placed a strain on police resources as the authorities strive desperately to keep crime down.
To many citizens, the crackdown should have come earlier.
“Singapore is fast becoming known as a sin city,” said a school teacher, who fears casinos and vice would one day lead to its downfall.
Others call for a tighter screening of foreigners to keep out people with dubious backgrounds.
There has been no sign that immigration has stopped many such people from living or doing business here.
Singaporeans are fearful that triad members from China and Vietnam etc will establish operations here where, given their aggressiveness, they will soon dominate the local gangsters.
A simple example of negative developments: Some 81% of illegal hawkers come from abroad.
They made up 650 of the 800 unlicensed hawkers arrested so far this year, a newspaper reported.
But are foreigners responsible for most of the crimes in Singapore?
Latest statistics show that their role is rising, but the ratio is lower than their proportion of the population.
For example, the number of arrested foreigners (excluding permanent residents) has been increasing for three consecutive years – from 3,216 (in 2006) to 3,780 (2007) and 3,822 (2008).
They made up 19% of all arrested offenders, an under-representation since foreigners form 24% of the population.
The most common offences were theft, vice and smuggling, public brawls and drunkenness and molest, with a few murders (mainly due to emotional outbursts) and rapes.
In a more serious instance, a group of Vietnamese and Chinese workers fought with wooden poles and kitchen knives in a dormitory in Geylang last month, leaving three men injured.
The series of raids may or may not be a police response to the triads’ challenge of authority, but the people involved are paying a stiff price for it.
The underground has been dealt a financial blow. Many prostitutes have gone underground or moved to other places.
Some fast-food customers in Chinatown have written about being solicited while they were munching on their hamburgers.
Also driven away are most of the back-lane gambling tables and peddlers of illegal cigarettes and pornography.
But suffering alongside them are owners of coffee-shops, budget hotels and restaurants whose business has taken a plunge.
In short, Geylang has become a quieter place, a pale shadow of its buzzing self a year ago.
But most Singaporeans believe its old self will return when the police leave it alone.
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chinamen are the biggest most feared mafias..in hongkong they don’t used parangs to rob banks…they used ak47s..my kaki who was staioned in hongkong for quite some times concurred the real lives..not just some jackie chan/jo0hn woo movies…
to a chinamen what hav they got to loss? to do a crime..either way you are dead…might as well do it BIG…
the statistics reflect nothing as the police delay approaching an area of concern until some time.
the actual numbers should be much higher.
its unavoidable, must understand lah, S’pore chose growth…
so many (male) foreign workers here, they need to have their “needs” taken care off mah. must be thankful that those social workers are mostly not locals ah. must be understanding, like give those foreign frontline staff who cannot understand English time to learn & pick up the language.
our dear leaders oso scared of China, they so big, now so (economically) powerful. own citizens must kowtow to them…
kind of ‘disappointed’ with our home grown gangsters,why and when they give up their turf (geylang) so easily! was in roppongi,japan, recently, let me tell you, what i saw was real mafia japanese, even those phone booths,where they have those number where you supposed to call for prostitude also decline foreigners,the mamasan picked up the fone, realised that i can’t speak fluent nihon go,rejected the business straight away!great pride japanese!i really dun think our men in blue or gurkhas can handle a big riot,where, thousands of foreign workers go berserk!good bye Singapore!
get real.
SG is the only place they allow foreign dignitaries to escape after killing people.
it must be because the lives of our people are just not worth as much as that of a foreigner’s.
it’s really funny. every country thinks their people are more important than foreigners except our own. how nice. we are discriminated against in our own land.
keep voting for the PAP.
in the future, maybe we’ll be the ones doing the construction work, cleaning the toilets, prostituting ourselves, etc, while the foreigners do all the “high class” jobs.
uniquely Singapore.
The news article should be taken with a pinch of salt. The Star is a Malaysian newspaper which does not seem to enjoy a reputation of fair reporting.
// my views
you should really take a walk in geylang to see for yourself.
if reading from the internet is not good enough…
Why is the Straits Times silent on this? Can Chua Mui Hoong write something instead of licking PAPa’s arrrse?
is singapore as clean as it was before?
with casinos and extended areas of prostitution. certainly its as clean as before?
Many taxi drivers the past few months had told me about the fights and raids in Geylang. I believe The Star on this article.
Malaysia (and for that matter all other countries) has a more robust newspaper industry and mature independent readers who can discern which newspapers to believe and which articles not to believe etc. Readers also know that different newspapers are owned by different interested powers, hence their reporting slant etc. In other countries all sort of tabloids exist. The smart consumers know which to choose to read what. Sadly, Singaporeans are naive when it comes to this.
Although our local press reported (I think) on the raids, they did not write about the beating up of the policemen. Now I wonder why? Singaporeans have no other alternative newspapers to check. That’s why read blogs.
I read about the fight on one of the local evening newspaper, either wanbao or shin min. The Straits times did not report on this. So far, the evening papers had made several reports on such fights when the police was kenna beaten. However, the straits times was silence on these issues and they only report on police raids.
our men-in-blue kenna whipped in their asses? why? they got no pistols, tasers, batons or walkie-talkie to radio for back-up?
or is it because most of them are victims of years of indoctrination (toe the line)? are our police force so soft? is it most just see it as a well paying job & they took it (bait, hook, line & sinker) that S’pore is a safe country?
or is it symtomatic of how our country allocates human resources? pegging civil service jobs to the level of education, with little regard to the job fit? should resources allocated for the army (include navy & airforce) be channalled to SPF instead?
our men in blue are very efficient and they always arrived at the scene on time (just when the crowd dispersed liao) or they will shout at the top of their lungs “mata lai liao, mata lai liao” until all the crowds dispersed, then . . . . they arrived. What more to catch? mice ah!
tiredsingaporean,
i thought they spend more time making sure they look good in public (look professional)?… do they take a guide book on ’A Comprehensive Guide to Seizeable Offenses’? last minute do equipement check, “let’s try out the Taser” *zap, zap*!
lmao… :p
@My Views
Trying to discredit somebody? We are not fools, you know.
do they take a guide book on ’A Comprehensive Guide to Seizeable Offenses’?
Soon all will have to carry the red book you know those like in china Mao time but here who we all know with at least 20 pages of the rules starting from page 1 – 19 what you should not do and ending with last page 20 only 1 liner “sacrifice your life to protect the MIW no matter what happened” , possible?
@My Views – The Star is a Malaysian newspaper which does not seem to enjoy a reputation of fair reporting.
An article written with journalistic integrity will stand up to scrutiny, notwithstanding the source.
Can’t say the same for SPH/Mediacorp ‘journalism’. We know their ‘nation-building’ antics too well, led by the Chua sisters and other so-called ‘journalists’.
fpc
Mar 21, 2010 5:08
// my views
you should really take a walk in geylang to see for yourself.
if reading from the internet is not good enough…
My Views obviously walks and works in geylang. :)
Some of the men in blue are boys serving their NS. I shudder.
@senior citizen
Since they are lucky enough to be alive, they should know what to do this coming election.
If the Malaysian article was true, Chiam See Tong and his party would have seized the opportunity to shout loud – given Chiam’s plan to end his political career in Wong Kan Seng’s GRC.
Or you mean to say that Chiam and his party do not know what is happening at the ground?
if the article wasn’t true, MFA would have approached the papers….
mice is nice
Mar 21, 2010 15:16
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For the sake of discussion, lets assumed the Malaysian article was true. Could the police simply open fire just because they had pistols? Lets be clear about this : being issued with a pistol does not mean you hold a licence to kill! This is especially so if you were in an area which the Malaysian paper claimed there were many people of various foreign nationalities around. Just one mistake – and you put Singapore in a web of hot troubles with many embassies and countries! Trade embargoes, repatriation of Singapore’s ambassadors, protests at Singapore embassies, burning of Singapore’s flags …. it is going to be an ugly and messy scenario!
“Mar 22, 2010 2:36 – This comment is awaiting moderation. Thanks for your patience!”
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Haha! And we often heard this website parroting freedom of speech and accusing the Government for censorship??
Hahahaha! That is why I have been suggesting this website should be shut down.
My Views,
fyi, i currently have 2 posts under moderation too…
patience, patience… dun jump to conclusion mah. :p
//my views
if you like, go post your comment on TR.
you will still be defeated.
//my views
//if the Malaysian article was true, Chiam See Tong and his party would have seized the
//opportunity to shout loud – given Chiam’s plan to end his political career in Wong Kan
//Seng’s GRC. Or you mean to say that Chiam and his party do not know what is happening
//at the ground?
Wong Kan Seng is going to get booted out by Chiam.
Chiam is a doer not an excuse giver like Wong Kan Seng.
@My Views
Why should Chaim See Tong voice out.. This is in Geylang, not Potong Pasir..
I posted my comment on the integrity of newspapers on March 21. My main point was Singaporeans are not familiar with judging the news in reports. The current exchanges between “My Views” and the others interest me.
It does not matter if the DETAILS of the Geylang incidents were true or false. What is important is we are now aware something did happened there. The Straits Times chose not to report or play it down for some reasons. This sparked off an exchange of views. Is it true? Why did ST not report it? No, it’s a lie? etc. That is what a healthy open society is about. The truth will finally come out.
The Malaysian press exposed the sale of their airforce’s two missing jet engines recently. It started as a rumour (untrue!), then denials (untrue!), and then the TRUTH finally came out. The fiasco in Port Klang Freetrade Zone (PKFZ) was denied by big wigs in the MCA, even a minister. The TRUTH has now come out. Do not underestimate the importance of rumours.
I respect the Malaysian newspaper industry because newspapers emphasize on different matters and give different points of view. The New Straits Times is pro UMNO and anti everybody, The Star is owned by MCA. Utusan Melayu’s views are a bit ultra. The Chinese papers push another agenda etc. One reads the many papers for different views and analyses the news and reports as one thinks fit.
We do not have such previledges in Singapore.
We Singaporean men undergo NS ..
Perhaps it is time for NS men to band together and get rid of all these foreign criminals…
In case you are not already aware, I understand that the journalist, Seah Chiang Nee, is a Singaporean and his blog is at http://www.littlespeck.com/, where you can find the compilation of his columns at the Star, every weekend.
If we did that, we would be considered criminals.
Is anyone else outraged at the “work in blue collar jobs in the construction sector is great” shit in the Straits Times recently? Now tell me we are not going to end up as the labourers, being bullied by the foreign criminals, and oppressed by our “very own” elected representatives.
Singapore is supposed to be a safe place for Singaporeans. PAP just ruined it at all cost. Please cast your sacred votes to alternative parties, they still have feelings for Singaporeans unlike PAP.
Li Xiaoping said when you open the windows you get fresh air and sunlight and also the flies, or something to that effect.
On a cynical note, which however I think is closer to the truth than otherwise, the authorities have let prostitution in Geylang – and elsewhere – go on, with one eye – or even both – closed for a long, long time.
There are several reasons.
First single foreign men, and women, talented or not, straight or gay, away from home and family, have sexual urges too, to a greater or lesser extent. So rather they rape and molest and even assault, why not take some money from them and return it to the economy.
And that is the second reason: prostitution is one multiplier in the economy, eg Hotel 81, condoms, food, telephone, medical, taxis, etc, etc ; and this hoped for and desirous economic effect is part of the justification for bringing in foreigners in the first place.
And thirdly the police may have been bought. The notion that Singaporeans are incorruptible is bullshit – anyway who are Singaporeans? Are there such a species at all? On the other hand, people are the same anywhere, always, for all times. And maybe that is why the rioters dare oppose the police – for they may have felt someone cheated them of their protection.
The attitude of the authorities towards prostitution is the same as that leading to the casinos, namely, make money first – didnt LKY said “growth at all costs” and if you don’t agree you are daft? – and deal with the problems that comes with it, later, or even at all. And also there are no such thing as a vice – it can always be an economic good in another perspective, such as changing the laws.
And that was the attitude of LiXiaoping too, who also said, “To be rich is glorious”. Who cares if you are poor but morally upright and totally untainted with any vice, for who is without vice, even the men in white?
So as long as you are making money for Singapore, you can get away with a lot of things, and I think it is a lot. But then again, this story is as old as history, isn’t it?
Oops, I mean Deng Xiaoping and not Li.
A very revealing Freudian slip: unconscious association of all dictators and emperors with Li or Lees.
Well it is all true check out the New Paper today Oh by the way this happened way back in 2007
People,we can choose to ignore this problem.Foriegners have become biggest obstacle for singaporeon to substain themself.It seem’s we have nobody to voice our grievieances to.We don’t have much choice,now the elections are close by.who know’s! we might not even get another chance,by next elections china man population will replace singaporens..Use our chance efectively..vote for the opposition..even if they don’t come in power…They can still put pressure on govt to reverse hands free policy on migration….allocation of jobs,education,loans (hdb) to singaporeons first….revoking PR’s of unskilled workes or downgrading them to work permits……hopefully we will able bring back the singapore spirit…..MAJULA SINGAPURA
I actually think that one of the better things that LKY did was to create a decent policy on prostitution. The Old Man is right when he said that you can never actually ban this business.
If you walk down Geylang, you’ll realise that a good deal of the customer are actually Singaporean men and so I don’t think we can actually blame foreigners for being a source of vice. The foreigners, particularly the girls fill the supply side of the business.