SINGAPORE: With youth gangs and other gang-related
activities a concern, the authorities are considering imposing a
minimum age for getting tattooed.
Deputy Superintendent Tan Yong Hong, head of the
Singapore Police Force's Secret Societies Branch on Friday said
that his team was "very concerned" about the tattoos on some of the
teenaged boys arrested for gang-related
activities.
Said DSP Tan: "They tattoo themselves to show off to
others that they are tough and 'protected'. Imposing a minimum age
will help prevent the at-risk teens from associating and
identifying themselves with hard-core criminals."
DSP Tan was leading Camp Ace IV, a two-day camp at Pulau Ubin
organised by the Criminal Investigation Department for at-risk boys
aged between 13 and 18. It is part of the police's efforts to reach
out to youths and steer them away from crime and gang-related
activities.
Currently, there is no minimum age requirement to get tattooed. But
tattoo artist Sumithra Debi stipulated a minimum age of 18 at her
shop Exotic Tattoos and Piercings when she started her business 15
years ago.
Said Ms Debi: "There have been boys as young as 12 coming in and
wanting tattoos. I think they are doing it to seek attention and do
not fully realise the consequences of putting something so
permanent on their bodies at such a young age."
Ms Debi said at least three teens below 18 will try their luck at
her shop once a week, looking to tattoo outlines of dragons, but
she turns them away.
In the United Kingdom, the legal minimum age to get tattooed is 18,
while several states in the US such as California and New York have
imposed similar laws.
Invited by the CID to share his experiences with the youths on
Friday was a reformed gangster who wanted to be known only as
MC.
As he spoke of his regret in joining gangs, MC, 36, took off his
sports jacket, revealing the tattoos he had from neck to
wrist.
He said: "You think by putting tattoos on your body people will be
afraid of you? They may smile to avoid trouble but they think
you're a fool, because being a gangster means you end up either in
jail or the cemetery."
MC, who was released in 2009, was jailed for rioting. His wife left
him and his family did not want him there when his parents and
elder sister passed away while he was in jail.
These incidents and turning to religion helped him turn his life
around.
One camp participant, John (not his real name), 18, had his back
tattooed when he was 14 to rebel against his parents and to join a
gang.
Said John: "I want to remove it but I think it will be too
painful."
Fortunately, shedding his past was easier. "The StreetWise
Programme and this camp, especially the talk, made me realise that
it's okay to say no. I was asked to re-join the gang many times and
I said no. They threatened to beat me but when I did run into them,
they did not do anything," he said.
--TODAY
