[Singapore] -
The Red Butterfly : Notorious Women Gangsters of the 1960s
Dressed in black tight-fitting clothes, the woman gangsters
often used their belts to whip their female victims into
submission. Sometimes, they would brutally attack the victims’
faces using stone-removed ring prongs as jagged-edged weapons.
Those who refused to pay them money were facially disfigured and
maimed.
Organized crime, secret societies and gang fights were rampant
between the fifties and seventies. Each secret society controlled
its own territory tightly, operating illegal businesses like chap
ji kee (a lottery game), gambling dens, opium dens and brothels. It
also gained other sources of income through protection money,
extortion, robberies and kidnapping. Clashes over territories,
interests or revenges were so frequent that they were almost like
daily affairs.
The major secret society groups in the sixties were the 108, 24,
32 and 36. Over the years, they expanded so fast and large that
they often had branches or small triad groups under them. For
example, the Pek Kim Leng (White Golden Dragon) was under 108, and
it controlled territories from Chinatown to Bugis.
Different areas in Singapore were “owned” by different secret
societies and gangs. The Tiong Bahru vicinity was, for example,
“ruled” by Ang Peh Hor and Hai Lock San, whereas Ang Soon Tong was
the active triad around Nee Soon and Sembawang Road. See Tong,
affiliated to the infamous drug-dealing Ah Kong gang, made their
presence felt at North Bridge Road, Seah Street and Beach Road. Sio
Oh Leng, Leng Hor San and Sar Ji each established their respective
“strongholds” at River Valley Road, Havelock Road and Boat
Quay.
The Red Butterfly did not vie for territories with other secret
societies; they were mainly active at the nightclubs and bars
around Cecil Street. But they did often get into fights with other
women gangs at Clifford Pier, Geylang, Jalan Besar, Sungei Road and
near the Capitol Theatre. Police arrested the Red Butterfly gang
members several times but could not bring charges to them as there
were either not enough evidences or the victims were too terrified
to testify against them.
https://remembersingapore.org/2016/06/01/sixties-gang-the-red-butterfly/
