Oct 24, 2004
Bash street kids
Misfits feel a sense of belonging - but become the scapegoats when
there's trouble
By Debbie Swee
THEY hang out at HDB void decks and shopping centres, go drinking
and clubbing, and get into fights.
To fund these activities, they extort protection money from
younger, vulnerable kids or 'gin nah' (Hokkien for children) whom
they recruit into their ranks.
These street-corner gangs are apparently behind the rise in the
number of youths arrested for rioting, say social workers.
Violence among youths, as portrayed in the movie After School, has
been blamed on street-corner gangs who go around picking fights
with one another.
In the first nine months of this year, 382 youths were arrested, up
from 368 last year.
The gangs are made up mostly of teenagers. Some members are as
young as 12 years old. The gangs range in size from five to as many
as 50 members.
According to conservative estimates, there are at least 10 gangs in
Singapore, with different associations and branches.
Their members hang out at billiard parlours, pubs that play techno
music, playgrounds, video arcades and malls such as Cathay
Cineleisure Orchard and Parkway Parade.
Some gangs even use the names of once-powerful secret societies of
the 1960s, such as Sio Gi Ho and Sio Loh Kuan.
But they are unlikely to be affiliated to these groups.
Private investigator Lionel De Souza, who once worked in the Secret
Societies Branch of the police force during the 1960s and 1970s,
thinks these old gangs still exist but now lack bite.
'These gangs cannot be totally eradicated, but they have now been
successfully suppressed by the police, in the sense that they are
no longer well-organised entities,' said the 61-year-old.
Street gangs thrive because they provide companionship and
acceptance to members, who might otherwise feel like rejects in
society, says Ms Carol Balhetchet, director of youth development at
the Children's Society.
'These teens have to be more realistic about their preconceived
ideas of feeling safe and protected, because they are only wanted
by the gang to the extent that they serve the hidden purpose, such
as carrying out illegal activities,' she said. 'However, this
relationship will not last forever.'
In general, more males than females tend to be involved in these
gangs, although gender rarely makes a difference.
'No matter what gender they are, they can be brutal,' said Ms Joyce
Chan, senior youth counsellor of Teen Challenge, a voluntary
welfare organisation that works with youth offenders.
'Usually, the mentality is that the guys tend to be more
heavy-hand- ed, but the girls can also show no mercy.' Ms Chan
works mainly with juvenile delinquents, including those who are
trying to break away from gangs.
The gangs have devious ways of recruiting members.
Some use the 'good guy, bad guy' technique, where they get a group
of troublemakers to bully potential recruits.
Then, the gang leader steps in to act as a 'hero' to protect
them.
Another variation is to harass the potential recruit and demand he
fork out money to settle the purported grievance and become a
protected member of the gang.
Some recruits pay entrance fees of around $20 in addition to weekly
protection fees of about $10. Members who cannot pay up are forced
to sell illegal VCDs and shoplift.
But the most prevalent activity of gang members is hanging out in
their territories and getting into confrontations over petty issues
that eventually escalate into brawls.
These face-offs range from the classic staring incidents to
boy-girl relationship problems.
Because the gang mentality is based on strength in numbers, the
whole gang will turn up to help a member confront a rival.
The greatest problem is that these youths become scapegoats most of
the time.
'I call these street gangs the dispensable group, because whenever
a fight breaks out or the police conduct raids, they are always the
first to be rounded up, rather than the real masterminds,' said Ms
Balhetchet.
This is what happened to Aki (not his real name). When he was 15
years old, a classmate introduced him to the Sa Lak Kau (369)
gang.
Back then, he felt it was cool to be reputed to be a
gangster.
He was eventually arrested for trying to steal a motorbike on
Christmas Eve last year, and put on probation.
The experience woke him up.
'I went for a prison visit, and the police showed me the cramped
cells and how the prisoners were being treated,' said the
18-year-old.
'They also showed me a video clip of a prisoner being caned. That
really shook me.'
The eldest son of a housewife and a machinist, Aki has now sworn
off gangsterism.
However, many youngsters like him find it hard to quit these
street-corner gangs.
It could be because those who want to leave the gang have to accept
a beating from fellow members before they can do so.
In the case of the Sa Lak Kau gang, members have to pay $369 to
quit.
Less powerful and influential gangs let their members go without
question after a period of absence.
Although members who wish to leave may be threatened with bodily
harm or may fear that their family members will be harassed, it is
possible to escape from the clutches of these gangs.
Mr De Souza said: 'Change your mobile number and avoid the places
where the gangs always hang out. And if they come to your house,
call the police.'
Meanwhile, those who have friends embroiled in gangs can also
intervene to help.
'Please, you are doing your friends a favour by telling someone who
can help them,' he said.
The Straits Times
http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/sub/geny/story/0,5562,280962-1098655140,00.html?
