Page 33 - BOOK inside pages as at Aug 8

My Journ Forewardey Begins

of illegal activities. Every morning, as I stepped out from my
Chow Kit flat, I would see people sniffing drugs, girls offering
their bodies in prostitution, young men extorting money.
Gangsterism and the attendant vices had earned Chow Kit its
notoriety.
Being arrested by the police was commonplace. One
morning, while having breakfast at the Robin Hood
coffeehouse on the ground floor of Campbell Complex, I was
arrested. Someone had reported my involvement in a fight the
night before. A new manager at the premise I was at had told
us to leave so that he could close shop. He had spoken rudely,
saying: “Who do you think you are, staying so late? Do you
think this is your house?” Without warning, I had given him
a punch.
After I was bailed out, his boss came to speak to me: “Why
did you beat up my manager? This makes it difficult for me,
as I have lost face.” “He is the one who started the fight and
caused trouble,” I insisted. “If you want to patch up, give me
an angpow now! Otherwise, what do I tell my boys? I was
picked up by the police because of him, and I have also lost
face.”
Each time I was arrested, my ‘elder’ in the underworld
would bail me out. This is why when I was finally sentenced
to prison without a date of release, I was shocked and bitterly
disappointed. Never did I expect that I would be imprisoned
for two years in Pudu Jail while awaiting trial, and then in
Kajang Prison for life.

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BOOK inside pages.indd 33 08/08/2018 05:44 PM