Ang Soon Tong () is a

secret society A secret society is a club or an organization whose activities, events, inner functioning, or membership are concealed. The society may or may not attempt to conceal its existence. The term usually excludes covert groups, such as intelligence a ...

based in

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

and

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

. According to a former

police The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and t ...

officer, the society was active as early as the 1950s, mainly in the

Sembawang Sembawang is a planning area and residential town located in the North Region of Singapore. Sembawang planning area is bordered by Simpang to the east, Mandai to the south, Yishun to the southeast, Woodlands to the west and the Straits of Jo ...

area. In 1998, a 19-year-old youth was arrested for setting up a website dedicated to the society. As recently as 2020, Ang Soon Tong is still active, with one of its members sentenced to reformative probation that year for clashing with members of another secret society. The gang gain profits through illegal activities such as smuggling and trading of gun and drugs, illegal moneylending and illegal gambling.

Notable members

Tan Chor Jin

Tan Chor Jin Tan Chor Jin (; 29 March 1966 – 9 January 2009), also known by his alias Tony Kia, was a Singaporean gang leader known for fatally shooting 41-year-old Lim Hock Soon, his former friend and nightclub owner, using a semi-automatic Beretta 0.22 ...

, nick named One-eye dragon, was a member of Ang Soon Tong. He is known for shooting a nightclub owner,

Lim Hock Soon Tan Chor Jin (; 29 March 1966 – 9 January 2009), also known by his alias Tony Kia, was a Singaporean gang leader known for fatally shooting 41-year-old Lim Hock Soon, his former friend and nightclub owner, using a semi-automatic Beretta 0.22 ...

, to death with a

Beretta Fabbrica d'Armi Pietro Beretta (; "Pietro Beretta Weapon Factory") is a privately held Italian firearms manufacturing company operating in several countries. Its firearms are used worldwide for a variety of civilian, law enforcement, and militar ...

Pistol inside Lim's flat at

Serangoon Serangoon () is a planning area and residential town located in the North-East Region of Singapore. Serangoon is bordered by these planning areas – Sengkang to the north, Hougang to the east, Ang Mo Kio and Bishan to the west, as well as ...

, Singapore. After the shoot out, Tan fled to Malaysia and attempted to travel to

Chiang Mai Chiang Mai (, from th, เชียงใหม่ , nod, , เจียงใหม่ ), sometimes written as Chiengmai or Chiangmai, is the largest city in northern Thailand, the capital of Chiang Mai province and the second largest city in ...

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...

, to escape the justice. Tan was arrested by

Royal Malaysia Police The Royal Malaysia Police (often abbreviated RMP) ( ms, Polis Diraja Malaysia (PDRM)), is a (primarily) uniformed national and federal police force in Malaysia. The force is a centralised organisation. Its headquarters are located at Bukit Aman ...

at a Hotel in

Kuala Lumpur , anthem = '' Maju dan Sejahtera'' , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia , pushpin_map_caption = , coordinates = , su ...

and was sentenced to death by Singapore's High Court in year 2007. He was hanged at dawn on 9 January 2009.

Incident

Gang fight over funeral banner

In December 1995, the Ang Soon Tong gang clashes with the See Tong gang over a funeral banner. The gang members were arrested and charged with imprisonment.

Leong Fook Weng murder incident

Leong Fook Weng, a former Ang Soon Tong gang member went on to quit Ang Soon Tong and joined the Loh Kuan secret society. See Chee Keong and four other gang members decided to punish Leong for quitting the gang and assaulted Leong Fook Weng 4 times in total on 17 May 2000 in

. One of the attacks was at the Upper

Boon Keng Boon Keng (, ta, பூன் கெங்) is a subzone within the planning area of Kallang, Singapore, as defined by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA). The smallest in terms of physical area among the nine subzones that make up Kallang, B ...

Road. Another attack happened later at a petrol station near Tanjong Katong Road. The last attack on Leong happened between 4.30 a.m. to 6.30 a.m. at the vacant land. During the attack, See Chee Keong stabbed Leong's heart and neck with a 5 cm long blade hidden in a lighter, which resulted in Leong's death. A few hours later, Leong's body was discovered only in his underwear. See Chee Keong fled to

on 18 May 2000, a day after the assault on Leong. In December 2000, See was arrested at

Phnom Penh International Airport Phnom Penh International Airport ( km, អាកាសយានដ្ឋានអន្តរជាតិភ្នំពេញ; french: Aéroport international de Phnom Penh) is the busiest and largest airport in Cambodia, occupying a land ar ...

Cambodia Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailand t ...

while attempting to smuggle illegal drugs to

Kuala Lumpur , anthem = '' Maju dan Sejahtera'' , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia , pushpin_map_caption = , coordinates = , su ...

. See was charged in Cambodia court and sentenced to 18 years of imprisonment for drug trafficking. After serving sentence in prison for 13 years, See received a royal pardon and was released on 26 November 2013 and was deported to Singapore. On 20 April 2016, three Ang Soon Tong gang members involved in the murdering incident, See Chee Keong, Robson Tay Teik Chai, and William Ho Kah Wei were charged in Singapore court and sentenced to imprisonment and caning for murdering Leong Fook Weng. The two other fugitives, Ong Chin Huat, and Lim Hin Teck were still on the run at that time.

Gang member harasses Yishun resident

An Ang Soon Tong gang member, known as Tiger Boy, ransomed $100 Singapore Dollars from Julius Chen, a resident living at

Yishun Yishun, formerly known as Nee Soon, is a residential town located in the northeastern corner of the North Region of Singapore, bordering Simpang and Sembawang to the north, Mandai to the west, the Central Water Catchment to its southwest, An ...

Singapore, because Tiger Boy "dislike Chen's face". Chen later saw Tiger Boy again at a coffee shop at Block 414 on 30 March 2019. Chen attempt to take back his $100 and confronted Tiger Boy. Tiger Boy respond by claiming that he is Ang Soon Tong gang member and made a phone call for backup, six Indian men later arrived at coffee shop. One of the Indian man called Chen crazy and threatened to punch Chen when he called the police. The police later arrived and separated Chen and the gang, and give a warning to the gang.

Extortion and assault in Klang, Malaysia 2015

Ang Soon Tong attempted to control areas in Klang, a city in Malaysia, by sending gang members with parangs and

katanas A is a Japanese sword characterized by a curved, single-edged blade with a circular or squared guard and long grip to accommodate two hands. Developed later than the ''tachi'', it was used by samurai in feudal Japan and worn with the edge fa ...

to assault 2 gardening contractors who refused to pay for the gang's extortion at a construction site in

Pulau Indah Pulau Indah ("Beautiful Island", formerly known as ''Pulau Lumut'') is an island in Klang District, Selangor, Malaysia with a population of around 20,000 people overall. Malaysia's largest port, West Port, Port Klang, is on the island. There ar ...

on 4 September 2015. The 2 gardening contractors were fatally injured and hospitalized. The

later arrested 12 Ang Soon Tong gang members and issued a wanted notice to search for the local gang leader.

References

{{Reflist Secret societies in Singapore Organized crime groups in Malaysia Organised crime groups in Singapore Triad groups