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Wong Swee Chin aka Botak Chin is probably Malaysia's most notorious gangster in the 70s. Botak Chin, the self styled modern-day Robin Hood, was born in Kuala Lumpur in 1951 to a family of 10 siblings. As his father was a retiree who worked with the Malayan Railways, they lived at the Malaysian Railway quarters next to the Caltex station in Jalan Ipoh.

This is the story of Botak Chin:

Botak Chin studied at a Chinese vernacular primary school and then went on to attend the Methodist Boys' Secondary School in Sentul up to Form 3 (the Lower Certificate of Education), after which, he quit school.

Having left school at age 15, Botak Chin started working as a fishmonger at Jalan Tun Ismail (formally Maxwell Road) market. After his mother's death, he often spent time away from home preferring to live with his friends. Away from his father's watchful eye, he then got involved with the local hoodlums where he was initiated into committing petty crimes. This, in turn, led to him joining his first gang; the 360 gang (Sak Pak Lok).

At the age of 18, in 1969, when he illegally obtained his first firearm (a .22 revolver), he formed his own gang and proceeded with robbing sprees. This led to his first arrest, conviction and prison sentence. He then spent a few years in prison.

However, within a few months upon his release from prison in 1974, he formed a new gang with Ng Cheng Wong (aka Ah Wong), Beh Kok Chin (aka Pangkor Chai) and Teh Bok Lay (aka Seh Chai). A month prior to this, he went to Thailand to purchase guns. Then on June 2 1975, readily armed, the gang hit an illegal gambling den in Sentul and made off with RM5,800. With the proceeds from that robbery, Botak Chin "reinvested in his business" - he again went to Thailand to acquire even more firearms and ammunition - he apparently bought another 8 pieces of firearms and 100 bullets.

The gang used a vacant tin mine in Kepong as their shooting range, targeting stray dogs. There were also reports that Botak Chin used to openly display his gun at the Sentul market but nobody dared offend him for fear of being made a victim.

On July 20 1975, now with even more "tools of trade" - the new firearms - the gang became more ambitious, they robbed a bank in Jalan Imbi and fled with RM95,000. They then gunned down several mahjong players inside a Chinese temple in Jalan Kolam Ayer and made off with RM10,000. This was big money in those days, as a double storey house in Subang cost only about RM15,000, then.

Because of his many robberies, gun battles with the police and feuds with rival gangs, Botak Chin needed more firearms and ammunition, possibly to enlarge his "army" and strengthen his position. To easily obtain these weapons, he targeted policemen next - in one case, he attacked 3 policemen and took their pistols.

It is also understood that Botak Chin made frequent trips to Thailand not only to procure illegal firearms and but also to obtain protective talisman (called tangkal) from Siamese shamans (locally called bomoh siam or bomoh Thai) practicing black magic.

It is believed that the reason he managed to successfully evade capture, survive and escape from numerous gun battles with the police is because he wears a very powerful Phra Pidta tangkal obtained from a bomoh siam.

In one epic incident in Segambut Dalam involving a shootout with the police, he managed to slip away unharmed, despite his car being riddled with bullets. This led to many rumours claiming that the tangkal he was wearing made him invulnerable (kebal) to bullets, knives and even poison. Some even believed that he could become invisible, at will, thus escaping unseen.

Botak Chin is fearless and determined in pursuing his goals. On 25 September, although one of his right hand men, Chau Kuan (aka Ah Kuan) was shot dead at a sundry shop at Jalan Kovil Hilir, this did not cripple his gang activities or demoralise his will.

Their biggest hit was on Oct 26 1975, where the gang fled with RM218,000 after gunning down a security guard delivering money to a horse racing club. With his share of approximately RM40,000 from the robbery, he again went to Thailand. This time he purchased even more weapons adding his arsenal to 19 guns, 5 hand grenades and 1,000 bullets.

Business was looking good for Botak Chin and his men.

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.

http://themalaysianlife.blogspot.com/2009/11/botak-chin-malaysias-robin-hood.html