Boysie Singh, (5 April 1908 – 20 August 1957) also referred to as John Boysie Singh and also as the

Raja ''Raja'' (; from , IAST ') is a royal title used for South Asian monarchs. The title is equivalent to king or princely ruler in South Asia and Southeast Asia. The title has a long history in South Asia and Southeast Asia, being attested f ...

(the

Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been de ...

word for king), or just Boysie, was born on 5 April 1908 on 17 Luis Street, Woodbrook,

Port of Spain Port of Spain (Spanish: ''Puerto España''), officially the City of Port of Spain (also stylized Port-of-Spain), is the capital of Trinidad and Tobago and the third largest municipality, after Chaguanas and San Fernando. The city has a municip ...

, Saint George County, British Trinidad and Tobago to Bhagrang Singh (a fugitive who immigrated to British Trinidad and Tobago from

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

) and his wife. He had a long and successful career as a gangster and gambler before turning to piracy and murder. For almost ten years, from 1947 until 1956 he and his gang terrorized the waters between

Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago (, ), officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean. Consisting of the main islands Trinidad and Tobago, and numerous much smaller islands, it is situated south of ...

and

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

. They were responsible for the deaths of approximately 400 people. They would promise to ferry people from Trinidad to Venezuela but en route he would rob his victims at gunpoint, kill them and dump them into the sea. Boysie was well-known in

. He had successfully beaten a charge of breaking and entering which nearly resulted in his deportation before he was finally executed after losing his third case - for the murder of his niece. He was held in awe and dread by most of the population and was frequently seen strolling grandly about

in the early 1950s wearing bright, stylish clothes. Mothers, nanis, and ajees would warn their children: "Behave yourself, man, or Boysie goyn get, allyuh!" Boysie Singh died in

by being hanged in 1957 for the murder of a dancer, Hattie Werk.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Singh, Boysie John 1908 births 1957 deaths 20th-century executions by Trinidad and Tobago Executed Trinidad and Tobago people People convicted of murder by Trinidad and Tobago People executed by Trinidad and Tobago by hanging People executed for murder Trinidad and Tobago criminals Trinidad and Tobago people convicted of murder Trinidad and Tobago people of Indian descent