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Arrests on the decline but gangsterism still an issue
The authorities recently rounded up 151 people they said are members of unlawful societies. Senior Correspondent Zaihan Mohamed Yusof examines the state of gangsterism in Singapore.
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An individual being detained during a two-week islandwide operation from Dec 21 to Jan 3, in which a total of 151 people were arrested. A police spokesman said that the number of arrests last year was significantly lower due to Covid-19 movement restrictions.
PHOTO: SINGAPORE POLICE FORCE
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When Aw Teck Boon, a 43-year-old living in a one-room Housing Board flat in the Jalan Besar area, died in 1999, some believed it would mark the decline of secret societies in Singapore. Aw, a fiery key leader of the Sio Kun Tong gang, was found stabbed to death in Geylang by rivals.
By then, many of the older members had spent years behind bars under the Criminal Law (Temporary Provisions) Act (CLTPA), which provides for detention without trial.
