Stories from Deli

GANGSTERS ON SUMATRA CHINESE SECRET SOCIETIES AT BAGAN SI API API.

In the announcements for the Lieutenant Governors of the Interior we find a very exciting contribution from Mr. Baalbergen about the existence of Chinese secret societies at Bagan Si Api Api, from which it can be read that these gentlemen do not shy away from murder and have special fighters from the Overwal come out to patch up broken prestige. Here then follow “revelations” about conditions in Chinese community life in Bagan until recently.

Whenever anything brewed now, the coolies would soon return to their clubhouses in the early evening and venture not far from their “base,” especially not those who are under the “protection” of a small secret society. Because the time of intimidation has then come. By the leaders of the aggressive kongsie certain swaggers have been appointed to harass members of the opposing party, starting by rudely opposing each other. Finally, these fighters act in groups, work the non-members out of their pubs, prevent them from entering the clandestine opium dens, require all prostitutes present locally, in other words make the non-members very uncomfortable If the coolies are sufficiently frightened, then the emissaries of the aggressive kongsie come secretly to the taukes, and remain there is nothing left but to pay.

The tauke may struggle, but he pays, because he knows that otherwise his company will come to a standstill. ‘The intimidation will mainly affect his coolies, on land and at sea, and in a very short time he will be without coolies, and that means a great financial loss. Moreover, with the exception of extraordinary actions, the amounts do not exceed f10 to f25 per tauke, and that amount is paid rather than run the risk.

One will wonder why one does not enlist the help of the Administration against such acts of violence. First not because of the oath of blood, secondly not because of the difficulty of proper protection by the police of body and property of the coolies at sea, but secondly not because of the extensive ramifications of the secret kongs which have their “agencies” in Malacca, Penang and especially Singapore. , with which places the Bagan fishmonger maintains a lively contact and where he may sooner or later fall victim to Kongsie revenge.

The tauke may be gagged, yet if the police intervene, he will assure, with a friendly smile, that he has not had to pay any money at all, much less knows anything about secret societies. Even his bookkeeping won’t reveal anything. Sometimes small amounts are written out as “for the black hand” or something like that, a term the meaning of which one has to guess. Besides, one should not think that the kongs do nothing for the tauke at all. No, his will protect him well. well and truly against the misdeeds of other Kongsies, especially against pirates.

Everyone is nudged.
Not being affiliated with a kongsie is unthinkable. Nets, fishing gear, sampans, even goods in the goedangs would disappear like “snow in the sun” by thieves, as everyone knows that this individual can do nothing in return. Is it the aggressive company to do it only for “money” and gain ascendancy through large numbers of members, then the coolies and the taukes will manage with a few blows and anxious moments. stuttering is heard from the Chinese and all kedeis are closed with a loud noise in a general “sauve qui peut” of the residents on the street, who try to reach their home or their club as soon as possible.

But nothing else can be seen, usually there is it was the reaction of a fast-paced brawl in which the vanquished are sometimes pursued by the opposing fighters as far as the stairs of their “clubhouse”, yes, on those narrow stairs the blows are just taken, there Such a disturbance by the manager usually first closes the trapdoor at the top of the stairs until all members present are sufficiently ‘resistant’. Then the opponent has usually already disappeared without a trace, leaving behind a few opponents on the stairs with some more or less serious wounds, inflicted with hard blunt objects.

The actual “work” is provided by the “professional fighter bosses” who often unexpectedly come over in secret from the overwall (FMS) (with good wind not even a day’s sailing) at a favorable moment trying to upset a professional fighter of the opposing party in order to that very moment to flee to the embankment in a ready sampan. Thus there have been appalled cases

One need not, however, think that the victim will let go of something during an interrogation, because revenge is reserved for the king.

A last murder in this way took place at the end of December 1927. The kongsie Ho Hin (literally luck of the agreement) because of police surveillance acting out under other innocent names like Hok Gie, Hin Ho etc. which mainly represented the „interests of the fishmongers “, had come to the fore in the clearing of followers of the great Sara Tiara Buoy in 1925 by Comptroller Smith. The merchants, the leading ones belonged to the Oeiclan, made up the smallest part of the population.After the “humiliation” of the Sara Tiam, the small secret company that protected its interests had also become occupied with the affairs of that company.

Little Chicago.

Many small taukes, formerly heavily contributing to the Sam Tiam (also called Tjin Liong Tong~ schoon — sincere association) now seemed to be sufficiently safe through the Government oversight of the Sam Tiam, yes, even after slight intimidation went over to the Ho Hin .

The Sam Tiam (Tjin Liong Tong) was gradually unable to meet her financial obligations. a. v. make the payment of its fighters and leaders, and the latter are basing themselves on means to restore their prestige.

Their leader Kho Poei Loy (bitter-coming back) a sort of priest and “famous” rain-prayer had finally decided on a counter-harassment. Because of the police surveillance, he had everything worked out in Klang and P. Ketam (FMS). Then finally the fighters of Ho Hin were so bold to insult the wives of the Sam Tiam members, even making an attempt to degrade the sister of one of the Sam Tiam fighters to a concubine was the measure and had been decided to kill the two adversaries. serious insult involved.

The verdict was: “shooting by means of a revolver in the kotta in front of the public”, which, in addition to retaliation, would also serve propaganda, for such a venture would make even the most courageous tauke mellow and thus easily make money. slide off. And money would prove urgently needed, since the three gunfighter bosses to be hired would have to have a thousand guilders in advance and, in the event of success, the same amount as payment in installments.

Gunmen….
Besides the money needed to bring these “gunmen” and their cover consisting of dozens of persons, the leader himself would demand several thousand guilders and permanent support in the event of a blow. The habits of the designated victims were carefully checked, which was not very difficult, as they, knowing their kongsie mighty, were only afraid of assassination in remote parts of the kotta, but felt sufficiently safe in the center of that kctta, amid all the coffee shops and places of entertainment, chiefly under the control of their own kongsie

Some regular coffee houses were regularly frequented by them with comrades in the “peak hours” of the evening, where they made great expenses, which they did not pay anyway, being the “share” of the coffee-holder in exchange for their “protection”. Had the kedei’a parent even had the courage to demand payment, it would have looked bad for him. At best, all of his customers would have been suitably intimidated and the tauke could close his business. This hubris, however, would cost them dearly. Every year at the end of December, fishing comes to a halt, and the kotta is overcrowded with young fishermen, who in the evenings seek entertainment in the center of the kotta at open-air restaurants, the Chinese theater and the many coffee shops.

Many strange faces, also young fishermen from the neighboring small settlements, even overwhelmed Chinese, so that dozens of strangers went unnoticed. On December 23, 1927, at nine o’clock in the evening, however, a strange occurrence suddenly occurred at the busiest, illuminated crossroads, just in front of the Chinese theatre. Three men break free from the crowd and make their way under the dimly dark khaki lima (covered street in front of the shops) in the direction of the corner coffee-kedei, where in drunken merriment the two designated opposing members sit at a table in front of them with their comrades. indulge in the open window. It is important within a spectacle, so that one does not “hear” the silence that has suddenly taken hold of the pedestrians in the street in front of the theater. A silence for fear of what is about to happen before their eyes.

The three men each have a revolver with them, they are closely followed by three other men with drawn revolvers, who check the front one, behind them the ‘cover’ of twenty men silently strides. , a few shots are heard, the two victims fall mortally wounded and bystanders scatter.

He tried to track down the culprits, but was himself overrun by a troupe of dozens of the killers’ associates. Such groups of employees run in different directions shouting fire, drawing attention to another part of the city. For the Control House, for that of the Police Commander and for the Field Police Barracks, dozens of employees suddenly use the same trick at the same time. This creates great confusion because Bagan, which is made of wooden houses, has had terrible fires and the “fire alarm” immediately puts the entire population in a mad terror, expressing itself in a rushing home as soon as possible to shut up and destroy everything. to take care of family and property if necessary. Before it is known exactly what happened, the perpetrators have already fled in ready sampans to avoid over the raodderbanks to the ramparts.’ All but one of them succeeded, one who later planned to move abroad, but was arrested with some collaborators, his sentence to 20 years in prison and the lighter convictions of many fellow members for participating in the secret society (Stbld. 1970). no. 271 jo 1908 ns., and 363, as well as the expulsion of the suspected individuals has caused enough terror to indemnify Bagan for the time being from repetition.

Police interest.

Action was taken against all secret conventions without distinction. As it appeared that the entertainment clubs were closely associated with the criminal act, they were all abolished. The leaders who had fled to the Overwal also received too much interest from the police there and they moved successively to China, so that after a few years of the secret society there was nothing left to be seen. This in no way means that the danger has been averted. Once it threatened again. Due to the failure of the plan of the attack, the “back payments” to the fighters and the leader were not forthcoming. The local agents stated that they were unable to get money. was that the leader’s helper and right-hand man had been secretly at night in Bagan while he was believed to be in China.

The leader himself and some accomplices were also spotted on the Overwal. Plans for mass blood oath meetings in the swamp forests were discovered. and its execution thwarted. Finally the dreaded persons disappeared again from the overwal when the police there, being informed, again showed “its interest.” Due to the progressive development of the local fishermen population it can be hoped that the criminal societies will soon be gone for good, especially the younger generation born in Bagan will be less susceptible because of the education received at the numerous Chinese primary schools and the since a few years there. established Dutch Chinese School of the RK mission.

The printing press in China itself helps by publishing booklets in which the secrets of those conventions are unveiled, so that the mysterious business no longer exerts such an anxious influence on the uninitiated. There is a danger, however, that a no less dangerous form of secret society will now make its appearance in our Indies, viz. the political secret boycott unions, which can easily be seduced into political crimes.

The bandit societies were only racially oriented and so the Europeans and Malays could live in complete safety in the midst of the tumult, nor was their movement ever directed against Government or Police except to hinder the interference of authority in their affairs. This is different with the political secret societies and these unions naturally have an even sharper interest from the administration and the police. However, also from the English Police and ‘it is therefore fortunate for Bagan to consider that Singapore has temporarily taken measures against new supplies of Singaporean Chinese coolies. Moreover, it seems to be seen that the Ned. Indian Immigration Regulations “make organized criminals very difficult,” as Klang’s Assistant Commissioner of Police wrote in his Police Journal, and they seem to be pushing for our regulations to be introduced. If this is not the case, then the Administration Police will remain on their guard, especially in the event of an imminent economic upswing, as surprises cannot be ruled out.
De Sumatra post, 09-11-1932