LIM, John Hock Seng
The Public Service,
Accession Number 002880
- Oral History Centre
Source
- 4
Total Reels
- Kelvin Kwek
Interviewer
- 03:03:30
Total Running Time
- English
Language
Copyright Notice
All rights to the recordings and transcripts on this website, including the rights to copy, publish, broadcast and perform, are reserved. Written permission is required for any use. If you have any queries, please contact nas@nlb.gov.sg
Reel/Disc 1 of 4
Metadata
- 20 Sep 2004
Recording Date
- 00:51:45
Running Time
- MP3
Format
- Open Access
Conditions Governing Access
Synopsis
(0:00:21) His personal background.
(0:01:33) Recollection of his educational background.
(0:03:31) Mentioned that it was common to start working immediately after Secondary school. Few people attended university as they could not afford it.
(0:05:50) Left school to work in 1969.
(0:07:10) Explained why Penang was more urbanised than the other parts of Malaya.
(0:08:06) Reasons why the Malayan government sent youths like him for military training.
(0:09:42) The Malayan government promised jobs for all the youths who underwent military training.
(0:10:43) Recalled his work responsibilities at the Public Works Department in Penang.
(0:14:39) Talked about accepting bribes as a common practice and why he left his job.
(0:15:32) He was employed as a police officer at the Singapore Police Force.
(0:17:22) Why he chose to work at the Singapore Police Force.
(0:19:16) Recollection of the cause of a racial riot in Penang in 1967 and its impact.
(0:23:47) Talked about the modes of transport from Penang to Singapore.
(0:25:03) His impression that the Singapore Police Force did not have stringent criteria because the country was advancing and needed more policemen.
(0:26:24) How much he was paid at the Public Works Department and in the Singapore Police Force.
(0:28:16) His first posting was as a uniformed police constable at the Orchard Road Police Station.
(0:29:03) Recollection of his training and compared it with his training in Malaysia.
(0:33:02) Talked more about his police constable training in Singapore.
(0:35:03) The jurisdiction of Orchard Road that the police had to patrol.
(0:35:34) Responsibilities of the police constables.
(0:39:29) His impression of what constituted a gangster back then.
(0:40:19) The police cooperated with the gangsters to solve crimes, but the law still took precedence.
(0:42:55) The police controlled the gangsters through a law that allowed them to be imprisoned without trial.
(0:44:13) Talked about how the police solved crimes by studying patterns.
(0:49:10) Police constables used their own discretion to solve crimes.
(0:50:09) Recalled police constables patrolled on foot because patrol cars were limited. Some constables used their own vehicles on patrols.
(0:51:21) He was talent-spotted to become a plain clothes detective.
Born in Penang. Childhood days in Penang. Military training. Working in Public Works Department in Penang. Apply for Singapore Police Force. Training at Police Academy. Worked as a uniformed constable in Orchard Road Police Station. Gangsters in Singapore. Common crimes. Talent-spotted to become detective.
We will get back to your request within 5 working days
Reel/Disc 2 of 4
Metadata
- 22 Sep 2004
Recording Date
- 00:50:51
Running Time
- MP3
Format
- Open Access
Conditions Governing Access
Synopsis
(0:00:50) Recollection of memorable cases he solved as a uniformed police constable.
(0:02:11) Responsibilities of the police constables.
(0:03:09) The limits of police constable duties.
(0:04:16) Recollection of the training he received as a police detective, and the self-development that was involved.
(0:06:37) His impressions of the old tactics of dealing with suspected criminals.
(0:07:29) Working schedules of the non-uniformed detectives depended on crime trends.
(0:08:41) Jurisdiction coverage was not limited to Orchard Road.
(0:10:18) How he felt when he stepped into a detective’s role for the first time.
(0:10:54) His impressions of the impact of the absence of a formal system to guide police officers.
(0:13:40) Recollection of solving a robbery case in Holland Road.
(0:16:34) The differences between the roles of a police constable and a detective.
(0:17:52) Common incidents and cases he encountered as a police constable.
(0:22:04) His impression of the lack of focus in the way the police dealt with drug problems before the anti-drug act was imposed.
(0:24:47) How they created their own system of dealing with drug addicts and traffickers.
(0:27:49) The detectives were divided into squads to solve different cases.
(0:34:26) Circumstances under which the police constables could draw their revolvers.
(0:35:41) Recollection of famous gunmen and criminals.
(0:38:02) An overview of his career.
(0:41:05) Talked about gangsters and secret societies in Singapore.
(0:45:20) Recollection of the troubled areas in Singapore and the common crimes committed.
(0:45:55) How the police dealt with gang fights.
(0:49:42) His impression of how secret societies were eventually removed.
Cases he solved in the patrol side and talent-spotted for detective. Communist cases. Facilities in the police station. Experience of detective work. Dealing with accused. Robbery case in Holland. Dealing with dead body and family squabble. Drug problem in Singapore. Dealing with addicts and traffickers. General crime in Singapore like robbery and theft. Practice of pulling out revolver. Famous gunmen and criminal. Tactics of interrogating accused. Secret society in Singapore. Troubled areas in Singapore. Bukit Ho Swee and Seven MIle Stone. Dealing with gang fights.
We will get back to your request within 5 working days
Reel/Disc 3 of 4
Metadata
- 25 Nov 2004
Recording Date
- 00:41:11
Running Time
- MP3
Format
- Open Access
Conditions Governing Access
Synopsis
(0:00:20) His involvement in the various departments at the Orchard Road police station.
(0:00:57) The different categories of theft.
(0:02:41) Investigation commenced only when there was sufficient evidence provided.
(0:03:52) Quotas for crime-solving were only imposed by the supervisors when some detectives.
(0:04:32) How the Filipino pickpocket syndicate operated and the presence of Indonesian and Singaporean syndicates.
(0:06:00) How the pickpockets were originally noticed.
(0:08:04) He was promoted and transferred to Queenstown police station in 1985.
(0:10:19) Described his duties during the Singapore elections and the festive seasons.
(0:14:23) Clarified that the Orchard Road police station moved to Tanglin Police Station after its premises were completed.
(0:15:22) It was untrue that Tanglin police station housed the most notorious criminals.
(0:16:57) His impression that corruption still existed but was at its lowest when he joined the police force in 1973.
(0:18:13) Compared the different cases he faced at Queenstown police station.
(0:19:41) His working hours at Queenstown police station depended on how quickly he cleared his own cases.
(0:20:39) His daily routine as an investigator.
(0:22:40) Classification of major crimes.
(0:23:13) Talked about his heavier workload at Queenstown police station.
(0:24:40) Priority always went to crimes in progress.
(0:31:44) Cases that warranted an ambush.
(0:32:50) The challenge of solving molest cases.
(0:35:03) Recollection of how teenage offenders, molest cases and rape victims were handled.
Involvement in Orchard police station of crime branch like anti-robberry, housebreaking, snatch theft and interrogation. Handling theft cases as a detective. Pickpockets syndicate. Promoted and posted to Queenstown police station. Involvement in elections. Problems faced in Queenstown police station. Investigation crime in Queenstown. Priority goes to crime in progress and how cases are being allocated to different divisions. Cases with and without leads. Dealing with teenage offenders, molest cases and rape victims.
We will get back to your request within 5 working days
