Low crime doesn’t mean no crime. This is a common refrain from the Singapore Police Force. Implicit in the statement is the low crime rate in Singapore. The Annual Crime Brief 2019 published by the Singapore Police Force showed 35115 cases, out of which 153 were “violent crimes” and 4349 were “crimes against person”. This low crime rate has resulted in 94% of Singapore residents reporting that they feel safe walking home alone in their neighbourhood at night. However, there is always an underbelly in any society and Singapore is not exception. Gangs and secret societies do exist and they do get violent at times. To get an insider perspective to the underworld in Singapore, we speak with Kim Whye Kee, the winner of the Rotary Club of Singapore Artisan of the Year Award 2019 Winner and former Headman of a gang in Singapore.

Like any other kid, Whye Kee had dreams of becoming a teacher, fireman, policeman or other professions that young boys aspire to. However, such dreams ended after primary school. When he started secondary school, he got beaten up by the school bullies very often and that eventually led him to join a gang to take revenge on those bullies.