IS IT WORTH IT ??? Think Hard and Carefully !

Gang chief jailed 42 months, caned 18 strokes
By Shaffiq Alkhatib
Posted: 02 December 2010 1715 hrs
Channelnewsasia.com



SINGAPORE:
The headman of a secret society was sentenced to 42 months' jail and given 18 strokes of the cane for offences including being part of an unlawful assembly that attacked a 16-year-old boy.
Twenty-eight-year-old Mohammed Hussein Mohammed Kassim and five other men attacked Rashvin Ravindran with a knife at a playground near Block 511, Jurong West Street 51 at around 4.20pm on 14 August.

Hussein, who is the headman of the 18 Sio Ghi Ho secret society, directed the assault.
The fight broke out after a member of his group accused Rashvin of calling his friend a "dog".
They then attacked the boy before he even had the chance to answer.
As a result, Rashvin suffered injuries to his neck and head, and was sent to hospital for treatment.
Just about two hours before the assault, Hussein and at least 13 of his associates were at Jurong West Street 52 waiting to ambush another group of men.
Members of Hussein's group were armed with knives and a knuckle duster.

The headman had personally planned the attack to take place at a street soccer court.
However, he aborted it as he found that there were too many passers-by in the area.
The 13 youths, aged between 14 and 21, were charged with the crime.
Three of them have already been dealt with in court.
A 14-year-old boy was sent to the Singapore Boys' Home for rehabilitation while his 15-year-old accomplice was put on probation.
They cannot be named due to their age.

Another member of the group, 20-year-old Maria Dass Pandi Rasan, was sentenced to 24 months' jail and given six strokes of the cane.
Besides these, Hussein was also caught with a sickle and a flick knife in his flat at around 12.15pm on 16 August.
Police seized the weapons after officers raided his home at Block 118, Corporation Drive, in Taman Jurong that day.

The plump, heavily inked Hussein - who sports several tattoos on his face - was seen smiling to his family members in the gallery as the authorities led him away.
For the rioting charge, he could have been jailed up to ten years on top of the caning.
- CNA/ir


Unk Dicko's Comments:
More and more of these "secret societies " gangs have opened their doors to non-Chinese to boost their strength in numbers and to counter what the 369 group have been doing for over 2 decades. I have put the term " secret societies" in quotation marks because unlike half a century ago, today's samseng gangs are not that secretive any more. They do try to make some attempts to hide their links from the police and our authorities. But do so only superficially. Many openly tattoo themselves with their gang insignia or gang emblems in the hope of frightening ordinary people. Even skinny looking weakling kids tattoo themselves, dye their hair in weird colours, keep unkempt or spiky hair and add all sorts of stuff in the hope of looking more macho-bravo..the more sinister the better.
In actual fact, many of these samseng kias are openly declaring themselves "fair game" for their ss enemies and the police.

The situation in and outside the school is somewhat similar.
The teenage gang member in school DOES NOT SHY AWAY FROM STATING HIS SECRET SOCIETY to others they want to intimidate, harass or confront.
All the gangs operating inside a school, if they are on opposing sides, want to outdo one another.
These "hot air balloons' are simply that ...full of hot air led by so called leaders such as the so-called "headman" in above report.
From his actions as described in the report..you can see what a mess he has made of his life for himself, his family and those whom he has led astray ( total of 13 charged ).

This was pretty much the same kind of rubbish leadership that I encountered during my years of dealing with them. It was actually no leadership at all. I prefer to use the term "conmanship".The young, impressionable kids lured into such gangs were all basically conned...by older adults into thinking they are joining not just a gang but "an army" of thousands of fellow gang members., with numerous branches NSEW, all on call at a moment's notice. They fall for this big brotherhood thing.

Many of my charges learnt the hard way that when they were really in trouble...no help came.They were abandoned and left to fend for themselves for creating their own mess.

Some parents have asked me this question seriously: " if my son or daughter is already in a gang,how can he/she come out completely, without his life being in danger?"
As a matter of fact, during my appearance on CNA BLOG TV reently, the "Flying Dutchman" who was hosting the programme on Gangs and youth violence, had asked the very same question...with differing answers from the others on the panel. No one there actually had the kind of experience Unk Dicko had...of securing a gang member's unmolested, free release from his own S S gang without any payment or retribution by gang members.
Many parents have also asked me this, " how can we tell if our son/daughter is in a gang?"
Anyone out there interested in the ANSWERS ?