without success. They petitioned the President of the Republic (for Singapore by now had become an independent sovereign state), but this was rejected. Early on the morning of Friday, 29 October 1965 (27 months after Dutton’s murder), they were executed at Changi Jail in batches of three. Three by three, at 10-minute intervals, they took their last short walk from their cells to the death chamber, their faces hooded, their hands tied behind their backs. The first three to step up to the gallows were Tan Kheng Ann (alias Robert Black alias Ang Chuar), Chia Yeo Fatt (alias Botak), and Cheong Wai Sang. The previous evening they had all been served their $5 last meal in their cells. At 3:30 AM, a police car drove up with the warrant of execution for the Director of the Prison, Yeow Koon Poh. Fifteen minutes later, the State Executioner arrived under police escort, and was taken straight to the execution chamber. By this time a whole troop of the reserve unit had been deployed along the road fronting Changi Jail. At 4:30 AM the prison chaplain, the Rev Khoo Siaw Hia of the Methodist Church arrived to say final prayers for the 18 men. They had, he said, been converted to the faith during their last months in jail, and he later produced a letter signed by the 18 condemned men to prove this.
Written in English, this is what the letter said:
Our Dear Rev Khoo Seow Wah. We, Tan Kheng Ann, Chia Yeow Fatt, Chong Wai Sang, Somasundram, Lim Tee Kang, Lim Kim Chuan, Khoo Geok San, Chan Wah, Sumasundrarajoo, Chew Cheng Hoe, Ponapalam, Sim Hoe Seng, Sim Teck Beng, Tan Eng Chwee, Ng Cheng Leong, Hoe Hock Hai, Cheng Poh Kheng, Chew Thiam Huat, do thank you from the bottom of our hearts and the depth of our souls in this humble expression of our dying gratitude for all you have done for us. You were everything to us in our hour of need-friend, adviser, confidant, father, and our unfailing source of strength and inspiration. You were the beacon that guided us to the haven of Jesus Christ. You taught us to have unquestioning faith in God’s Word, and to pray to Him on humbly bended knees to ask for his forgiveness for all the sins and transgressions that we have committed against His Commandments. During these long agonising months of mental torture, of waiting, of hoping, of seeing each hope crumble away till now when we stand at the very brink of death, at the very edge of eternity, you, dear Rev, have given so much of yourself to us in selfless devotion, to receive in return-absolutely nothing! Nothing that is, but the knowledge that you are serving God to the best of your ability and the satisfaction that you derive there from. It is through you that we now look Death in the face with courage and equanimity, for we doubt not God’s promise of forgiveness for past iniquities by the simple act of belief and acceptance. We know that in three and a half hours’ time when we pass from this earth our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, will be waiting with open arms to lead us to our new home in the house of our Father. If only every man in this world were like you, dear Rev, what a better place it would be. There would then be no wars, no murders, no covetings, no sins, no prisons, just peace and tranquillity everywhere. It is with a heavy heart that we must now bid thee goodbye, but we know that we shall see thee again one day-in a better place, a better time, a better day. With our dying breath we once again affirm to thee our undying gratitude-gratitude that will transcend even Death itself. Fare thee well, our dear Rev, Yours in Christ… (18 signatures)
It is not known who actually composed this remarkable document, nor whose hand wrote it, but it is most unlikely that any of the 18 men themselves were responsible, though at the time they signed the letter it may indeed have reflected their feelings. Most officials doubted, however, that any of the condemned men had seriously embraced Christianity or expressed any sincere remorse for their actions.
By 6:15 AM, as the sun was coming up, the last man was hanged. The State Coroner made the formal identification of the bodies before they were removed to the General Hospital mortuary to be claimed by relatives. At 8:55 AM, the first nine bodies were brought out in a van marked ‘Prison Industries’. The area around the mortuary was sealed off and remained closed until all the bodies were claimed by the relatives. All 18 men were buried on Sunday afternoon, some in Christian cemeteries. Among those to receive a Christian burial was the gangster believed to have been the ring-leader of the riot-Tan Kheng Ann, alias Robert Black. On his grave his brother, Eddie Tan, erected a magnificent headstone.
For the next five years, Pulau Senang was out of bounds. Then, in August 1968, the Government decided to convert it into a bombing range for the Singapore Armed Forces. Plans to develop the island for economic purposes, as the Prime Minister hoped in 1965, were abandoned.
Though in 1980 secret societies in Singapore were no longer the menace they had been, they still existed. There were still gang murders, gang fights, extortion, stabbings, robberies. It was no secret that prostitutes, small traders, taxi-drivers, amahs, hawkers, could still be threatened to pay for protection. But, as in the past, Europeans were still exempt from their attention. Secret societies and their operations remained essentially an Asian affair.
Why do Orientals join secret societies?
No one seems to know. There have been secret societies in Singapore for more than 150 years but there has never been an authoritative inquiry. In the early days, the societies served a useful purpose in that they protected the new immigrant, helped to find him a job, saw that he was properly buried. Modern secret societies are different: they are gangs, and have been for many years. In the 1970s, the University of Singapore Law Faculty interviewed 100 detainees, and made the astonishing discovery that they were all employed at the time of their arrest. Detainees said they had joined the gangs for a wide variety of reasons including revenge, status, greed for money, excitement, companionship and protection. Their average age was 17.
What sort of human beings were the guilty men of Pulau Senang? ·
Heng Lian Choon, 30-year-old bachelor. He had four years of English education. He was a vegetable seller. He was found guilty of rioting. · Toh Kok Peng, 24-year-old bachelor bachelor and vegetable farmer. He had five years of Chinese education. His father was dead. No previous conviction. Guilty of murder. · Ang Teck Kee, 24-year-old bachelor. He had worked in a pineapple factory, studied up to Standard Six. Guilty of rioting. · Cheong Kim Seng, 23 years old. Unmarried. Chinese-educated. Worked as a goldsmith, then in a foundry. Guilty of rioting. · Yong Ah Chew, 25-year-old bachelor. Worked in a weaving factory, then in printing works. No previous conviction. Guilty of rioting. · Choy Peng Kwong, 23-year-old bachelor. Worked as a labourer for the Singapore Harbour Board. · Teng Ah Kow, 25-year-old bachelor. Father dead, mother without means of support. Worked at a food stall, later in a laundry. No previous conviction. Guilty of rioting. ·
Lim Heng Soon, 24-year-old bachelor with four years of Chinese education. Helped parents in farm work. No previous conviction. Guilty of rioting. · Lim Thiam Huat, 19 years old. Unmarried, orphan. Five years of Chinese education. A mechanic. Guilty of rioting. · Chin Kiong, 24 years old. Four years of Chinese education. Delivery boy. Father a clerk. Mother in mental home. No previous conviction. Guilty of rioting with deadly weapons. ·
Peh Guan Hock, 28 years old bachelor. Unmarried. Chinese-educated. Cement worker. Father dead. No previous conviction. Guilty of rioting with deadly weapons. · Chia Geok Chee, 21-year-old bachelor with widowed mother. Left school at seventeen. Guilty of rioting with deadly weapons. · Yeo Yew Boon, 22-year-old bachelor. Chinese educated. No previous convictions. Guilty of rioting with deadly weapons. · Teng Eng Tay, 23-year-old bachelor. Five years’ English education. Guilty of rioting with deadly weapons. · Ong Aik Kwong, 22-year-old bachelor. Three years’ Chinese education. Guilty of rioting with deadly weapons. Odd-job labourer. No previous conviction. · Lim Teck San, 23-year-old bachelor. Two years’ Chinese education. Mee (noodles) salesman. No previous conviction. Guilty of rioting with deadly weapons. · Sia Ah Kow, 22 years old. Father dead. Two and a half years of Chinese education. Odd-job labourer. Guilty of rioting with deadly weapons. · Chew Yam Meng. 24 years old. Unmarried. Steel worker. Mother very old. Father unable to work. Two years’ Chinese education. Guilty of rioting with deadly weapons. ·
Teo Lian Choon, 27-year-old bachelor. Father dead. Six years’ Chinese education. Factory worker. Guilty of rioting with deadly weapons. · Tan Chin, 23-year-old bachelor. Father dead. Born in China, came to Singapore at the age of 12. Paint sprayer. No previous conviction. Guilty of rioting with deadly weapons. · Heng Boon Leng, 21 years old. Unmarried. Parents dead. Grandmother in hospital. Six years English education, odd-job man. No previous conviction. Guilty of rioting with deadly weapons. · Neo Kim Leong, 30 years old, married with three daughters. No education. Helped grandmother on poultry farm. Guilty of rioting with deadly weapons. · Teo Han Teck, 23-year-old seaman. Single. Orphan. Guilty of rioting with deadly weapons. · Tan Yim Chwee, 20 years old. Single. Father died when he was seven. Mother mad. Left school when he was 10. Guilty of murder. · Teo Han Teck, 23 years old, a seaman, was guilty of rioting with deadly weapons. ·
Aziz bin Salim, 23 years old, was English-educated. His father, until his death 10 years earlier, had been a cinema manager. Aziz’s relatives were all in good positions. Aziz was educated up to Senior Cambridge level. He was guilty of rioting with deadly weapons. · Chua Hai Imm was a cobbler. His mother was a schizophrenic. He was guilty of rioting with deadly weapons.
