Botak Chin - The Terror Of Jalan Ipoh Part 2

Continued from Botak Chin - Malaysia's Robin Hood ? Part 1

Although his gang was very successful, there were some gangsters who disputed Botak Chin's leadership. This led to confrontations with rival fractions and gangs. To consolidate his power as the supremo gangster in Kuala Lumpur, Botak Chin became involved in gang wars. In one major war, both his rival, Tua Pui Lek (the head of the Five Finger Mountain gang) and Botak Chin's own right hand man, Ah Wong, were killed at a disused tin mine in Jinjang.

Owing to the growing terror in Kuala Lumpur, the police also stepped up their war against Botak Chin. This gained some success where one of his trusted lieutenants Seh Chai killing himself when he was surrounded by the police in Jalan Alor.

Early 1976, Botak Chin started recruiting new members into his gang. This followed with 3 robberies where the gang fled with RM400,000. Despite the successful robberies, 7 of his men were shot dead and a few others were caught. The police confiscated 15 firearms, ammunition and hand granades.

Finally, on February 16 1976 night, he and his gang members was captured by the police in after a shoot out at the Eng Leong sawmill in Jalan Ipoh. Botak Chin miraculously survived despite being seriously injured with 6 gun wounds.

According to the news report by the New Starits Times at that time, Botak Chin implied that he was set up by his own men, one Pang Kok Chye and an Ah Keong.

Botak Chin told the High Court that on that day, he was at the Tiong Nam settlement between 7pm and 8pm when Pang Kok Chye and Ah Keong came to see him. They told him that 2 other people needed help and wanted to meet with him. Botak Chin then follow them by car to the Jalan Ipoh sawmill to meet the 2 people.

Inside the sawmill he sat on a chair for 15 minutes before asking Pang Kok Chye and Ah Keong where were the 2 people they came to meet. He then said he proceeded to make a telephone call. After the call, as he was replacing the receiver, shooting started outside. He then felt pain all over his body. He became weak and giddy then fell to the floor. Only then he realised that he had been shot.

Botak Chin claimed that during the shooting, Pang Kok Chye and an Ah Keong ran to the back of the mill. Then, when the shooting stopped, something was thrown into building filling the room with smoke. He found it difficult to breathe and became unconscious. When he regained consciousness, he found himself in hospital. Botak Chin also denied being involved in robberies and said that his name was used by others who committed the robberies.

However, a senior police officer testified in court that Botak Chin was conscious during his arrest. Botak Chin allegedly told police officers who arrested him that if he wasn't injured in his arms he would have shot and killed many of them. Botak Chin apparently said, "Kalau saya punya due tangan tidak jem, saya sudah tembak. Lu nasib baik."

Upon Botak Chin's capture, many rumours began circulating about his alleged invincibility. Some people believed that the reason the police was able to wound and apprehend Botak Chin was because, on that day, he left home without wearing his tangkal. Another version is that the police went to Thailand and obtained the assistance Botak Chin's bomoh siam to defeat him.

According to newspaper reports, at the time of capture, Botak Chin with him a green cloth with Siamese writing and a plastic green purse containing a note book. He also wore 3 tangkal - one tangkal round his neck and 2 other tangkal round his waist.

Apparently Botak Chin protested when the police wanted to remove the tangkal, saying "Ini saya punya tokong". Botak Chin also wore a Rolex watch, a gold chain with 2 pendants and a jade gold ring. Police also found in his wallet some money (RM231, HK10, 50 pieces of Japanese "banana" notes and some baht) and photograph of 2 women.

On May 12 1980, 27 year old Botak Chin, facing 3 charges under the Internal Security Act at the Kuala Lumpur High Court, denied having possession of firearms or ammunition under his possession or control. He denied that even the 2 pouches of bullets found in his trouser pockets during the saw mill incident were his. He claimed he did not know how they came to be in his pockets, reported the New Straits Times.

He was sentenced to death by the High Court in 1980. The next year, on Jan 1, 1981, while on death row, he made an unsuccessful attempt to escape from his cell in Pudu prison, stabbing prison wardens but was seriously injured himself. On June 11, 1981, at 3am, Botak Chin was hanged.

Dr Mahadevan, the former director of Tanjung Rambutan Mental Hospital in Perak, who treated Botak Chin for 19 days to determine if he was sane enough to stand trial, found Botak Chin to be highly intelligent - but a "misguided genius".

At the mental hospital Botak Chin told Dr. Mahadevan that since he was a young boy he always wanted to help the poor and down-trodden. He wanted to protect them from corrupt officials and gangsters who extorted money from the poor and weak. Botak Chin revealed that he was once brutally attacked by gangsters who entered his vegetable stall at the market and tried to extort money from him, failing which, they beat him until his collar bone was fractured.

This incident changed his life. Botak Chin then started to learn martial arts and joined a gang for protection. He also encouraged people to join his secret society so that they wont be harmed and exploited. Members of his secret society had to swear not to take advantage of the poor, cut their hair short and not take dadah.

He further told Dr. Mahadevan that in his kampung people regarded him as Robin Hood because he robbed from the rich and gave a considerable amount of the spoils to the poor. Apparently, part of the loot went to his gang and part of it went to the family of those members who were killed or caught by the police.

This possibly explains why he managed, time and time again, to hide and gain refuge in the squatter settlements when pursued by the police - with the goodwill he had with the poor, the community were helping him escape. He was their hero.

Botak Chin was no ordinary gangster. His secret society was guided by his philosophy and governed by strict principles and guidelines. These had to complied with by everyone, including himself. To enforce discipline among his troops and keep order in the gang, he had executed henchmen who had breached the rules. He was not a killer, he was their taikor and he was just doing his job, he told Dr. Mahadevan.

Having built a reputation of reverence among society as Robin Hood, people, especially the lower classes, treated him as such. During his stay at the hospital, patients offered to wash his clothes and perform chores for him.

Although Botak Chin never married, he had plenty of female admirers. Dr Mahadevan said he would get calls from women inquiring about Botak Chin when he was at the hospital.

Dr Mahadevan said that Botak Chin was rushed back to Kuala Lumpur when a bullet was found in his high security hospital cell because it appeared that his men were coming to help him escape.

During his final days, he sought solace in various religions. While it was his dying wish was to donate his organs for medical purposes, this request was rejected as he had not signed a written consent.

Please post your comments.

39 comments:

Anonymous said...

he seemed differently yet stupid for committing such crimes..

gothfather said...

dats wat we called a hero in his own kind...

Anonymous said...

to add in a little.. his last wish was to eat kfc..

Medusa said...

I admire his spirits of helping the poor but too bad it's in a bad way of helping.

binibn said...

i think he is very good person
i think i would like to be him one day

Anonymous said...

yahoo botak chin the herrrrro of jalan ipoh once upon a time

Anonymous said...

great guy
hero

Anonymous said...

Is a Legend bside MJ.

Anonymous said...

why botak chin is not botak ?

Anonymous said...

police should be keeping an eye on you, binibn.
hahah!

Anonymous said...

what a genius in disguise

Anonymous said...

sadly at the young age he had to be hanged...

Anonymous said...

Interesting story. It tells me there is good in some of these people. I thought robin hood is just a tale.

Extreme Power said...

interesting history.

Schaun said...

He was a sane person. He deserves a second chance.

Anonymous said...

Lol very much like the movie Public Enemies .. Tragic yet disturbing.

Anonymous said...

he using pra piddta amulet from tok raja temple

Anonymous said...

Malaysian Badass - pride of the nation,envy of asian.

zues said...

he is a good guy to be helping the poor and the weak from the bad at that time.
but, the way he have use to help is wrong so this will pray the deference between his ending

so choose a right way to go

Anonymous said...

Interesting guy...but whether if this is the real plot no one really knows but himself!

Anonymous said...

Botak Chin's botak stands for Bagi Orang Tak Ada Kerja.
Quote Wikipedia

Hayat Mustaqim said...

what a great person!!!!!

jiteh said...

I was just 15 then.used to look forward to read the paperd to c what he had done next. Hope there was a more detailed story about his life as I think there r some facts that r missing. RIP

Anonymous said...

At least he fight for d people...better than some of our Malaysian big shot...makan sendiri n tamak...

babi huten said...

make a movie about him then.

Anonymous said...

r u sure he took the phra pita from tok raja? tok raja is somewhere from kelantan.

Anonymous said...

he is a gangster in malaysia nobody cant challange him..if got please tell me the name..

Anonymous said...

my name also called botak chin mah!!!

Anonymous said...

The Robin Hood part was probably an excuse to save his a$$..

But the part he was a legend at Jln Ipoh, I'm so proud!! Yeah to Jln Ipoh!!

Anonymous said...

this article does not really show the extent of his terrorism or the kindness of him. His influence also scared people from of singapore as rumors had spread there.Also he did a lot more good and he helped bring up parts of kl.

Anonymous said...

there is no moral for robbing from the rich.since all the corporate and the rich have robbed us all since the day we were born.our lives is nothing but cari makan,kais pagi makan pagi,kais petang makan petang,some people will never bring themself out of the vicious cycle of being poor and for this ppl it is anymeans nacessary.comparing the violence of botak chin with the violence of being poor and the underclass made by the rich and corporation is only miniscule.a family is force to fled from thier ancestors land coz this corporation wanna plant kelapa sawit and a baby die becoz to buy milk is very expensive is also violent.

googoo said...

he's cute

nemo said...

there must be a lot of things he have f**k up
its a sad ending to the truth but i sure he had great life along the way
this teach us to learn from him
to do the right things in life
chose the right way in life
Tribute
to the legend Botakkkkk chin
the only man with guts and courage
they don't exist anymore

Anonymous said...

at last powerfull still polis

godfather said...

If he life in italy he might b the godfather liao..

Anonymous said...

cool!!!

shokichi said...

i tried to find goodness in his robin hood excuse, but no, it was and is still terrible deed what he had done. why robbing a bank is good when there were also others money in it, that have nothing to do with rich corrupt people etc. good intention isn't enough. it must be followed by right action as well.

Anonymous said...

the power of black magic/invisible....i like that part !!! not much difference btw botak chin and politicians...both robbing money....haha

Anonymous said...

the lesson to be learnt by this is that we all have a choice to speak up for right and justice, its just that under his circumstances, that's the only way that this man knew how to make a difference, we each of us have a choice in how we can make a difference. We still have to voice out.....

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