NET FRENZY OVER GANG LEADER’S ARREST
Netizens question how leader of Double Seven gang was conferred Datukship
THE arrest of the Double Seven gang leader in a special operation on Tuesday has caused a stir on social media. Many Netizens questioned how the man, in his 40s, was conferred a Datukship if he was an underworld leader. Others, however, congratulated police for weeding out gang leaders and members of the underworld in their crackdown on organised crime.
Facebook user Amy Lovingborn wrote: “Congratulations. Being called ayahanda, even I do not call my own dad ayahanda.”
It is learnt that the gang members called themselves the Double Seven, or 77 Gang, because the number “7” looked like a gun.
The gang name, it is rumoured, was also related to the arrested Datuk, who went by the nickname “Pak Long”.
Sources said gang members were divided into “red shirts” and “white shirts”. The red shirts were said to be those who were prepared to fight to defend the gang, while the white shirts were members who “practised religious beliefs”.
A source said those who joined the gang could not leave it. They were told that doing so would “only end in violence”.
However, they could choose to become “silent members” by lying low and not being active. Some “silent members” had shown up on the Internet to question their gang’s rules.
“To me, these gang members are nonsense. It is only dividing our race as you cannot be friends with members from other groups,” a man who claimed to be an active member wrote in a blog post.
The gang was involved in violent crime, protection rackets and illegal money-lending.
The gang leader, 47, was picked up at his house in Seremban by a special unit from Bukit Aman.
Police were also investigating the man in connection with a case in Chenderiang, Perak, but did not reveal details.
Sources told the New Straits Times that police had to surround the suspect’s house when detaining him to ensure that he did not escape.
“When we checked him, he had tattoos linking him to the gang,” said a source, adding that police obtained a three-day remand order to hold him for investigations. The remand expires today.