Even the "fairer sex" was not left out. All-women gangs, like the Ang Hor Tiap (or Red Butterfly Gang), were very common during the '60s and the '70s.
"They consisted mainly of cabaret girls, bar girls and hostesses," said Mr Singh. "Usually girls who were jilted by their lovers or who had had some unpleasant experiences with men. They were very mischievous and wild."
Mr Singh said that the women gangs were frequently involved in fights, but they usually did not engage in robberies or housebreaking.
These gangs gave protection to girls working in night-clubs and bars. Their favourite haunts were places like Clifford Pier, Eu Tong Sen Road, Jalan Besar, Tanjong Katong, Geylang and the Capitol Theatre vicinity.
-PEOPLE became gangsters for several reasons.
Some looked upon gangs as a means of making a living, while others were influenced by friends. Some enjoyed the feeling of power of being associated with gangs.
But every new member had to go through the same initiation ceremony.
A finger of the new member would be pricked and the blood collected in a bowl. All the new members would then be required to drink from this bowl. The members also need to swear their allegiance before the Chinese Warrior God.
Mr Harmon Singh said that the gangs at that time adhered strictly to their "code of ethics":
"For example, when something goes wrong in a particular area involving two different secret societies, the headmen of the gangs will arrange for settlement talks.
"One headman will name the place, the other party will name the time. Then they will meet to talk. One party will bring five people, the other will also bring five people. If all goes well, they shake hands and forget about the incident. But sometimes things couldn't be resolved.
"For example, if someone overturns the table, it means that he is unhappy. A curfew is then declared between the two gangs, and from that moment on, if one member is found in a rival gang's territory, there is a high chance that he will be stabbed or beaten up."
The gangs created a lot of problems during the '60s and the '70s. Gangsters were involved in all sorts of illegal activities, extortion, even murders and arson. Fortunately, gangs were gradually wiped out after tougher criminal laws were introduced.
"When a law called Section 55 came into effect -- it helped put a lot of gangsters behind bars," said Mr Singh.
Under the Criminal Law (Temporary Provisions) Act, or "Section 55" as it is more popularly known, suspected gang members were detained or placed under police supervision without the need for open trials. Victims were allowed to identify gang members from photographs in secret, and not face-to-face.
"Some young kids today consider themselves gangsters but they are no comparisons to those old-time gangsters who did it as a living and who had certain codes of conduct," said Mr Singh. "To me, these kids are just hooligans."
Today, most gang members of the past have already gone clean to start legitimate businesses. Occasionally, Mr Singh still bumps into one or two former gang members whom he had once put in jail. And he even sits down to have coffee with them.
"If not for you," one ex-gangster told him, "I would have gone to prison for much worse crimes, and maybe even hung. I would have been a much more hardened person."
