Jail, fines for 3 secret society members who did not wear masks at funeral wake, shouted gang slogans

SINGAPORE — Three men were sentenced to jail terms and fines on Monday (Feb 28) for being longtime members of secret societies and flouting Covid-19 laws when taking part in a funeral procession last year.

Young Chin Peng, 62, Chiau Chee Meng, 53, and Adrian Chua Yong Han, 46, also chanted gang slogans and displayed gang hand signs at the procession along Havelock Road near the Tiong Bahru area.

Video footage of the incident that took place on May 26 last year then circulated online.

Young, who worked as a taxi driver, was jailed for four months and fined S$2,500 after pleading guilty to one charge each of failing to wear a face mask in public and being a member of an unlawful society since 1972.

Five other similar charges were taken into consideration for sentencing.

Chiau, then a private-hire driver, was sentenced to three months’ jail and a fine of S$2,500. Chua, who worked as a cleaner, was jailed for four months and two weeks and fined S$2,500.

Both men similarly pleaded guilty to failing to wear a face mask and being a secret society member.

The court heard that the trio had attended a funeral wake at the multipurpose hall of Block 50A Commonwealth Drive for a man they knew through their gang. They attended the wake to pay their respects to the deceased.

On the afternoon of May 26 last year, they followed the funeral hearse on foot as part of the procession along Commonwealth Drive. They then took a chartered bus to Havelock Road.

The procession came to a stop in front of Poh Huat Restaurant at 725 Havelock Road, which the deceased man had owned, in order for the restaurant employees and other shop operators to pay their respects.

While standing behind the hearse, Young shouted “Yo Ah Yo”. Chiau and Chua then shouted back “Sio Gi Ho”, a slogan associated with their gang.

They chanted this about five times as a way of glorifying their gang and showing respect to the deceased, the court heard. They were also not wearing face masks and displayed hand signs associated with their gang.

Young was a senior member of the Sio Gi Ho secret society at the time after joining in 1972. Chiau was also a member and fighter, and used to belong to the Gi Tong Seng triad society that he joined in 1994.

Chua was an assistant headman and had been a member of Sio Gi Ho since mid-1997, recruiting others and taking charge of gang members in the headman’s absence.

A member of the public filmed the three men’s actions with his mobile phone and the video clip was posted online. An anonymous person then made a police report about the video.

Those convicted of being a member of an unlawful society can be fined up to S$5,000 or jailed for up to three years, or given both penalties.

Those who breach Covid-19 laws can be jailed for up to six months or fined up to S$10,000, or both.