[Malaysia] - Gang syndicates often hire ex-policemen and
ex-military soldiers as assassins.
At about 3.30pm, four men on two motorcycles, carrying two very
likely fully-loaded firearms, rode up to Kandasamy’s silver Honda
Accord.
Jumping off their bikes and peppering the car from both sides
with 18 bullets, the seemingly rehearsed move was done and dusted
in less than 10 seconds.
Police later confirmed Kandasamy’s affiliation to the notorious
Satu Hati (SH) gang.
According to a police source, the organisation was formed in the
early 1980s by a man who was only known as YB Solo. Its foundations
were built on a creed which denounced involvement in drug deals and
prostitution.
The gang justified to themselves that staying away from these
activities would in some way maintain some sort of integrity.
“Not long after they were formed, some members started going
against the creed and became involved in activities considered
forbidden to the organisation,” the source said.
This caused rivalry among gang members, and the organisation
failed to reach a unanimous decision and resulted in a split.
“Some of them remained in SH, while others who left formed the
Three-Six (TS) gang,” the source said. Members who defected into TS
started encroaching into the territories formerly controlled by
SH.
“When the turf clashes started, one by one members from either
side of the groups were killed over the years leading into the
1990s,” he said.
According to the source, these turf wars intensified over the
last 10 years, with brutal consequences.
When a gang considers a certain area as part of its turf, the
members would demand money from all businesses in the area in
exchange for, what they prefer to call, protection.
Ranging from small to big business franchises, the thugs would
demand a protection fee, threatening violence if the owners do
anything less than cooperate.
“The upper echelons of the gang in a particular area would
approach the manager of the construction sites, restaurants and
pubs to demand a protection fee,” the source said.
In this case, failing to comply would mean the site constantly
harassed by these gangsters.
People interested to join these gangs were subjected to a
process of initiation, while some considered it more of an
orientation process. Initiation rituals among gangs varied,
according to the source, with some involving self-mutilation.
“The SH gang does not have many initiation ceremonies, but
pledging loyalty to the gang sometimes meant getting tattoos of
specific logos at specific areas on the body. Anything less would
not be recognised as a symbol of allegiance,” the source said.
Once in the gang, the members most of the time earned their
money through the aforementioned means.
“Only several members who gained the trust of the higher ranking
thugs would be given bigger responsibilities such as debt
collecting. Only the brazen ones end up pulling triggers against a
rival,” he said.
While not all members would be trusted to handle a firearm,
according to the source, these gangs have resorted to acquiring
gunmen trained in handling the weapon.
“Some former police and military personnel who were discharged
for various disciplinary faults sometimes found themselves pulling
the trigger for the same thugs whom they tried to take down while
in the force,” the source said.
The use of former police and army personnel as assassins has
become the preferred choice of many gangs, the source said.
Contact with the thugs would have been established when these
officers were tasked to take down their organisations.
The moment of desperation hits when their steady pay cheque
while working in the force is abruptly choked and the funds start
becoming tight.
“Suddenly, you find yourself broke, but you are very
well-trained in handling firearms. What else can they do to utilise
that rare ability?” the source said.
In reference to last Wednesday’s shooting, the source said the
shooters seemed like professional hitmen who managed to do the job
while shooting in each other’s direction.
“It is very likely the gunmen were very experienced and had
tailed the suspect for a period of time before the execution,” he
said.
Tracing back the culprits of the shooting would send police on a
whirlwind as they tried to establish leads into the case.
The source said this was because of smaller splinter cells that
formed within the rival gangs.
“These smaller cells that share a similar code of conduct with
the parent gang could end up locking horns with rivals over trivial
matters that were not necessarily agreed upon by the gang leaders,”
he said.
https://sg.news.yahoo.com/gangsters-mean-streets-230100436.html
