Page 31 - BOOK inside pages as at Aug 8

My Journ Forewardey Begins

the Thai army camps at the border and anyone who wanted
some shooting practice could do it at those camps.
The gun I bought was meant to protect the gang. With the
weapon in my possession all the time, I felt a sense of power.
Whenever negotiations went awry, I only had to take the gun
out and put it on the table, and everyone would sit up and pay
attention to what I had to say. Most people knew that I had the
gun tucked away at my waist or in my sling bag. No one dared
to challenge me.
At that time, I would bring my gang members with me to
collect protection money from shop owners in Chow Kit every
month. If the owners refused to pay, we would create havoc
at their business premises. There would be no peace for them
and business would be badly affected for anyone who dared
to go against us!
I also worked as a nightclub bouncer and massage parlour
captain. They employed me to take care of their business and
to deal with troublemakers. Besides that, I also operated as
loan shark, lending money and charging exorbitant interest
rates.
My gang members and I were regularly involved in fights
with rival gangs who tried to encroach into our territories.
Everyone wanted to expand his own territory to cover a
bigger area, and collect more money. By the early 1970s, I was
also involved in armed robberies.
The police were always on our back. Whenever they had
an operation, some of us would be arrested. I was detained
and investigated under Section 117 of the Penal Code (abetting
the commission of an offence by the public, or by more than
ten persons) on a number of occasions. But Li Chai, who was
my boss by then, would settle it with the police and bail me
out.
This went on for some 15 years. I had a fixed daily
routine. Every morning, I would wake up at about 10am
and go to a nearby salon to have breakfast with the girls.
It was our meeting point, as there was a fixed phone line
by which people could contact me if needed. By noon, my
gang members and I would go out for lunch and discuss our

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BOOK inside pages.indd 31 08/08/2018 05:44 PM