Cold Blooded Murders (29 page)

Major James said that he told Dutton to
select as the first batch ‘what you can find in the way of masons,
brick-layers, tradesmen’. They were told that if they were selected they would
have to work hard. There were more volunteers than room on the island.

James admitted that prior to 6 March 1961,
the detainees worked 12 hours a day. They were then paid $0.10 a day.

Major James said that in April 1963, he sent
Dutton a letter. This was because there had been trouble over working on a
Saturday afternoon. An attendant, a former detainee, had been attacked by
detainees with
cangkuls
, James said he had to call out the Reserve Unit.
The row started when a settlement attendant warned a detainee about an offence.
The detainees’ story was that they had been working all night, and they had
asked the attendant for water which he had refused to give them. Major James
said this story was untrue: they had not been working all night.

James agreed that Dutton had worked the
detainees, unauthorised, overtime, but he held that Dutton was not disobeying
orders but, as the man on the top, he used his judgement in cases of emergency.
James said that Dutton had satisfied him on 23 April that overtime had been
necessary. A road was caving in and there were threats of rain. The road had to
be repaired before the rains came.

Under heavy cross-examination, James
explained that certain construction projects depended on tide. When it was low
tide at night, they worked at night. If something collapsed in the middle of
the night ‘we would put it right at night. Not wait until morning.”

James said he had heard rumours of
corruption at Pulau Senang and had reported the matter to the Corrupt Practices
Investigation Bureau.

James told the Court that all detainees were
returned to Singapore once a month to receive visits from relatives in prison.

One of the defence counsel asked Major James
what he thought was the real purpose of the island. Was it to produce a
magnificent feat of engineering, like a jetty? Or was it to teach the detainees
how to become good citizens, and respect law and order?

James told him the short answer was that the
idea of Pulau Senang was to show detainees that there was a better way of life
than living as a secret society gangster. It was an essential ingredient of
this better life that they could become proud of achieving something by their
own efforts. They achieved that. “They built a magnificent establishment, the
best prison establishment I have seen anywhere in the world. They built this
with their own efforts under Dutton’s leadership.”

James went on to say that work was the major
factor of rehabilitation to men in whose vocabulary the word work did not
exist—‘not unless you call extortion work’.

Did Dutton have favourites? James said that
would be out of character with a man like Dutton. He thought highly of some of
the detainees: these would have been the ones he would have thought he could
have relied on.

Mr Braga: Do you know that he
used a system of informers among those whom I call his favourites?

Major James: I don’t doubt
there were plenty of people who would run to him with information. That would
be common in an establishment of that nature.

James added that he thought some of the
informers might be among the most shrewd and cunning performers he could think
of anywhere.

Mr Braga: Didn’t Dutton force detainees
to become blood donors?

Major James: They gave of their own
free will.

He said that the Blood Transfusion Unit came
and prisoners gave blood—as they would anywhere—for the cake and cup of tea.

Mr Braga: But I was told that
if they did not do so they would be sent back to Changi.

Major James: That is a diabolical
untruth.

He explained that twice the detainees won a
prize for being the organisation with the greatest number of blood donors of
the month. The money was paid into the General Amenities Fund which bought
sports equipment for the detainees.

James was questioned about corruption on the
island. He said an officer had told him that a member of the staff was driving
about Singapore in a car owned by the relatives of a detainee. “He told me that
the same person was wearing a Rolex watch which had been given to him by the
family of that detainee.” James said detainees were not allowed to receive money
from relatives. He said that Settlement Attendant Low Ah Kow had often been
accused of trafficking, bringing contraband—cigarettes and tobacco—from
Singapore into Pulau Senang. Surprise searches were made but nothing was ever
found.

Former Chief Officer Jenardaran gave
evidence that he had heard reports of corruption: there were complaints against
Low Ah Kow but nothing was proved. He passed this information on to Dutton. He
knew nothing of Low conveying messages from relatives to the detainees, or of him
receiving money on consequence. He had made a complaint against Chia Teck Whee
to Major James for receiving money from detainees to secure release. It had
been alleged that Chia had been seen driving around in a detainee’s car, taking
the detainee’s relatives for a ride.

James told a defence counsel that
instructions regarding tools at Pulau Senang were that they were kept in the
guardroom: tools used at the worksite were kept in the workshop. At the
luncheon break tools that were being used would be left at the worksite.

Witness followed witness. Much of the
evidence was repetitive. The patience of judge and jury, accused and witness,
became sorely tried. A new note of interest was struck when one of the
prosecution witnesses, a detainee, Chong Sek Ling (alias Low Ho Kia), revealed
that he had held the rank of General Headman of the Group 18 Secret Society
(also known as
Chap Sar Yeow
). This is one of the highest ranks in a
secret society.

On one
occasion, the Judge asked Crown Counsel why he continued
to cross-examine a witness. Mr Seow explained that he was trying to
establish a recapitulation of what happened.

Judge: It does not add any
strength to your case. It only irritates me and the jury. You do yourself more
harm than good.

Chong Sek Ling said he had been lazy in
Pulau Senang and twice had been sent back to Changi.

In his evidence he told of a meeting in the
dining hall. Chong said there were seven of them. It was a gathering of those
who were high in positions in their respective secret societies.

Mr Ball: I object to that answer being
recorded.

Judge: On what grounds?

Mr Ball: On the grounds of attacking
the character of the accused.

Crown Counsel: I’m afraid I’m bereft of
words. We must face facts. This island was set up for Criminal Law detainees.
The witnesses are themselves members of various secret societies. Whether the
Crown wishes it or not, directly or indirectly, the fact is that all our
witnesses were former members of secret societies, and by any irresistible
inference all the accused are themselves members and that is why they have been
detained under the Criminal Law, and the sooner we face the facts of this case
I think the better it would be.

Mr Ball: I have nothing to say.

Judge: Your objection is overruled.

Chong said that he met Tan Kheng Ann after a
visit to Singapore and Tan told him that Dutton was very cocky and the leaders
of the secret societies had met and they had made the arrangement and trouble
would start in the near future. Tan said they had made up a list of the persons
they were going to liquidate. There were seven of them; Dutton headed the list.
Chong said he told Dutton all about this. Dutton laughed. He said he was not
afraid. Anyone who attacked him would land himself in hospital for a week. One
punch would be enough.

Witness: He took the names down in a
booklet.

Mr Francis Seow: Where did he get the
booklet from?

Witness: From his hip pocket.

Judge: What does it matter whether he
produced it from his shoe or his armpit? Why waste time? If Counsel does not
like it, they can cross-examine on it.

Chong said he did not join in the riot.
Instead, he went to the kitchen to lay in some food and to have a good feed.
Did he like the food at Pulau Senang? He said he considered the food at Changi
better because he did not have to work hard for it. If he did any work at
Changi it would be light work. He was 38 years old. There were no members of
his society in Pulau Senang at the time among the detainees but a settlement
attendant, Robert Choo, was. There were members of rival secret societies with
whom he had gang-wars prior to his imprisonment at Changi. He admitted that the
men he gave evidence against in Court were all members of rival secret
societies.

Why did the group of rival gangsters tell
him the plot? Because, Chong said, they had affection for him. They warned him
not to tell anyone. Crown Counsel asked him why he wanted to help Dutton. He
said: “Because during my three years at Pulau Senang, I found Dutton was not
corrupt. He was fair. He gave equal treatment to all.”

Chong said that Tan Yin Chwee told him that
the leaders of the secret societies had decided to kill Dutton, Chia, Tungku,
Singham, Cartoon and SA527 (Tan). Tan Yin Chwee said he had been assigned to
kill Dutton.

On the night before the uprising there was a
cinema show. There one of the ringleaders told Chong that the revolt would
shake the whole of Malaysia.

In an effort to discredit witness Liew Woon,
Mr Abisheganaden asked if it was true that accused Chia Yeow Fatt had been
associating with his wife, So Fah, for years?

Witness: Rubbish.

Counsel: Are you known as ‘Mighty
Mouse’?

Judge: Is this relevant? Is it relevant
to this case whether he is called ‘The King of Siam’ or ‘Mighty Mouse’? Please
don’t waste any more time. I have given you excessive latitude and my patience
is running out.

Another counsel persisted: Are you known as
‘Mighty Mouse’, alias ‘The Pimp’?

Braga: You came forward to give
evidence because you were not happy about this incident?

Witness: Out of righteousness I came
forward to give evidence, Mr Braga. Out of righteousness.

Braga: Why did you do that? Were you
unhappy?

Witness: They were too cruel.

Quek Hai Cheng gave evidence that Corporal
Choo fell while running away from a rioter with a
parang
. “While he was
on the ground I threw my body over him.”

“Why?“

“To save his life. Corporal Choo was a very
nice man. He is married with children. I was quite prepared to sacrifice my
life for him. Robert withdrew his
parang
. Choo was carried to the
office.”

Quek Hai Cheng, a prosecution witness, was
under cross-examination.

Counsel: What were you?

Quek Hai Cheng: Gangster.

Counsel: You belong to 969 Secret
Society?

Quek Hai Cheng: Yes.

Counsel: What were you in the society?

Quek Hai Cheng: Fighter.

Counsel: Did you ever have fights with
them in Changi Jail?

Quek Hai Cheng: Yes.

Asked about gangs in Pulau Senang, Quek said
there were all sorts of gangs in Pulau Senang … 69, 569, 13 Wonders, the O.A.
Group.

Mr Braga asked him the duties of a fighter
and Quek replied: “To fight until the enemy runs away.”

Mr Braga suggested that Quek was in fact one
of the leading rioters. Quek contemptuously denied this, or that he struck
Tailford. “If I had,” he replied, “he would have been dead.” He said that as a
gangster he had never killed.

Group 969 was an affiliate to Group 24—969
added up made 24.

The sheer monotony of the evidence, the
covering of the same ground by numerous witnesses, irritated Judge and Counsel.

Crown Counsel questioned a witness to establish
the time of an incident.

Witness: According to my watch it was
2:00
pm
.

Judge: Next question.

Counsel: Now what I want to know is:
was it accurate?

Witness: I don’t think it was accurate.
It was, at the time, under repair. I took it for repair afterwards.

Judge: Don’t ask him the make of the
watch, please.

Counsel: As it pleases you.

Judge: Well, it is not as it pleases at
all—I am merely extremely angry. This is not finished.

Occasionally there were flashes of humour,
but not many. Chua Cheng Hin, a witness (in jail serving a three-year sentence
for armed robbery, transferred to Pulau Senang to serve as a records clerk),
was complimented by the Judge on his ‘magnificent voice production’. Added the
weary Judge: “I only wish that other witnesses can reproduce it. I think you
should leave robbery alone, and give your attention to being a drill
instructor. You would make a reputation.” The witness smiled: “Thank you very
much, my Lord.”