Gang violence by girls on the rise

They dress like the boys, they fight like boys, even the crimes they commit are what the boy gangs are notorious for: rioting, robbing and extorting money, all offences which carry jail sentences.

One of the five detectives interviewed for this report, offered this snapshot of today's girl thugs: "In the past, girls broke the law in such areas as unlawful assembly, fights over men, and in staring incidents at public places such as discos.

"Now, they are doing what boy gangs do: breaking into cars to steal, threatening people and demanding money from schoolmates and neighbours."

Official figures show a disturbing rise in teenage girls committing extortions, robberies and other crimes.

In the first six months of this year, girls were involved in: 16 robberies, up from five last year; 25 thefts, up from 21; 236 shoplifting cases, up from 188, and 15 extortion cases, up from 10. In 1996, there were no reports of girls involved in extortion cases.

A total of 310 girls were arrested in the first six months of this year, compared with 273 in the first half of last year.

The detectives said that the pace picked up last September. They now make two to three arrests a week. Before, one a week was about average. Most of these girl gangsters are between 13 and 17 years old, although the police have come across girls as young as 10.

Police officers have sometimes mistaken them for boys because of their "short hair, men's shirt, trousers and Doc Martens shoes".

And when they fight, it is with a vengeance.

"Before, the girls would scratch and pull each other's hair. Now, they punch, kick and scratch their victims with sharp objects such as small knives. In some cases, they attack with stiletto-heeled shoes, leaving a bloody mess."

Compared with their forerunners, the Butterfly and Rose gangs of the early Sixties, the gangs today give themselves "cutesy" names like: Xiao Ding Dang (Little Doraemon, a Japanese cartoon character) and Xiao Tian Tian (Little Candy, another Japanese cartoon character).

They operate in gangs with between 15 and 20 members. Membership comes easy too: Initiation rituals are not required. There's no need to make offerings to Guan Kong (the Chinese God of War), for example. They just wear the same shoes, coloured wrist bands or sport similar tattoos.

Girl gangs often pick on neighbours or schoolmates.

Said a detective: "They would extort money from other girls, after accusing them of staring or spreading rumours about them."

Counsellors who have dealt with these girls say the lack of parental control and attention is the main cause of this rising tide of thuggery.

Most of the girls are from homes with a history of family abuse or where the parents have marital problems.

Their parents tend to shrug off the misdeeds, and often ask the police to let the girls off because "they're just kids", the detectives said.

Even after the girls are convicted and sent to homes or placed on probation, many parents refuse to see that their child is developing into a full-fledged criminal.

Counsellor Lindy Ong, 35, who has set up a support group in a church for parents with problem teens, said: "Some just leave their kids with us and expect us to perform miracles. They don't even turn up for counselling sessions."

In a research bulletin issued by the Subordinate Courts, a court official said: "If the young person's undesirable values and erroneous methods of solving her problems are not corrected early, there will be dire consequences."

Published in the Straits Times. Oct 18, 1998