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Salakau, which literally means '369' in Hokkien, also known as "Sia Lan Kau", is a street gang or secret society based in Singapore. The numbers 3, 6 and 9 add up to 18, which was the name of an older gang; the number signified the 18 lorhans (principal disciples) of Shaolin.

History

The gang was formed during the early 1940s during the Japanese occupation of Singapore, and many gangsters were involved with the anti-Japanese effort. 369 recruits its members mainly from their branches almost all across Singapore.. Some of the youngsters in the gang are as young as 13 years old while leadership positions within the gang consist of older chinese men in their twenties up to their 40s and 50s. The 369 gang is one of the biggest and most prominent secret societies in Singapore comparable to other well-known gangs such as the Ang Soon Tong even though they are split from the 18 group due to some conflicts. The 369 gang has been known to have operations in regional countries such as Malaysia, Thailand and even Hong Kong. While the secret society problem remains under control by the Singapore Police, secret societies such as the 369 remain influential and are still able to run sophisticated illegal activities such as loansharking, bookmaking and illegal gambling, making immense profits. While the secret societies are still capable of extreme violence and large scale clashes in turf wars, these are mainly avoided so as not to draw the attention of the police and allow the gangsters to engage in their lucrative and profitable enterprises.

369 was conceptualized in response to the growing influence around Boat Quay area. It was institutionalized when crackdowns against secret societies forced the gangs to ally in order to consolidate their strengths to stand up against the authorities. It quickly grew and expanded into housing estates carefully recruiting members. Initially, 369 did not allow non-Chinese individuals to join but soon relaxed this rule as it increased its influence.

369 wanted to set itself apart from the other secret societies so a significant number of 'rules' were implemented. The honour of the gang was to be upheld at all times, no matter the consequences. Members had to be well-dressed in black if possible to 'display the colours'.

Gang violence in Singapore

In the late 1960s and early 1970s, the gang furiously attacked rival gangs and started many turf wars. It also started recruiting many members from the Indian & Malay community after relaxing the Chinese-only rule. In the 1990s, more Malays were reported to be joining it after being introduced to gang members during tea dances in discos. This was because Malay gangs were smaller and more loosely structured due to the drastic drop of the Malay population and increase of the Chinese population..

369 also made profits from narcotics, children's card games, illicit magazines, and prostitution. Attacks on rival gangs such as the '303' gang (Sakongsa in Hokkien), the Omega gang and other independent branches of the '18' group were somewhat of a routine occurrence. The police cracked down on gang activity in the early 1980s and gang wars came to a screeching halt as many of the leaders were jailed. Many other notorious 'headmen' fled to neighbouring countries or were killed in gang attacks. In the mid-90s, some teenagers in "pseudo street gangs" claimed affiliation to 369 to be "cool" but didn't engage in activities as violent as those engaged in by the real gang; in 1993, there were at least 9 separate teenage gangs calling themselves '369'. However, in the late 1990s and early dawn of the millennium, the gang gained strength as many of the jailed leaders were released, and several of the members had succeeded in scaring off many rival gangs from territories. Gang attacks once again became common and rioting cases shot up. Cases of murder involving gang attacks and riots were steadily increasing and the police force tightened its noose on the gangs. Singapore's Secret Society Branch dedicated most of its resources to halt the gang violence and managed in netting in a considerable amount of members. Slowly but surely, the gang violence receded and many members were put in prison.

Recent activity

Salakau has predominantly held the territories as mentioned but gang activity has slowed down considerably. This is due to the Singapore Police Force having a better understanding of the gang networks and ample resources to stamp out violence. The Secret Societies Branch (SSB) of the Singapore Police Force has made great efforts at keeping the secret societies in check in recent years. The SSB regularly conducts surprise raids or checks on nightspots and public places known to be gang territories to deter any potential offenders. Anyone found guilty of being a member of an unlawful society may be punished up to a minimum of five years imprisonment and five strokes of the cane. Sentences are usually doubled or even tripled for anyone with significant leadership authority in any unlawful society in Singapore.

Recently, many malays have been joining the gang instead of Omega, consisting of malays only. There have been questions of whether if its a "betrayal" to the race of joining a Chinese secret society instead of a malay one. However, some commentators argue that this promotes national cohesion between the different ethnic groups, and is triumph of the governments efforts to integrate the races and promote racial harmony.

On 30 October 2010, a 19 year old boy was allegedly slashed by a gang of boys at a resort in Singapore. Some of the boys were wearing black T-shirts and with tattoos on their skinny frames. According to reports, the boys were shouting "sah lak kau" (Hokkien for 369) as they slashed the 19 year old victim. The attack was over within seconds and the 19 year old boy was pronounced dead upon arrival in hospital. Four suspects were arrested within days and police investigations are continuing.

References

1. Ooi Boon, Tan (18 May 1993). "The name game : from sports teams and rock bands to secret societies". Straits Times
2. Ooi Boon, Tan (10 April 1993). "Malay youths joining Chinese gangs". Straits Times
3. Teo, Ginnie and Phuan, William (20 July 1997). "The 'bluff gangsters'". Straits Times
4. Ooi Boon, Tan (18 May 1993). "The name game : from sports teams and rock bands to secret societies". Straits Times

See also

• Secret societies in Singapore

• Use dmy dates from October 2010
• Secret societies in Singapore
• Organisations based in Singapore
• Gangs in Asia