Salakau

Salakau
Founding locationSingapore
Years active1970s – present
TerritorySingapore
Ethnicitypredominantly Chinese, with some Malays and Indians
Activitiesdrug trafficking, extortion, prostitution, white-collar crime
Salakau
Chinese三六九
Literal meaningthree six nine
Transcriptions
Southern Min
Hokkien POJSaⁿ-la̍k-káu
Tâi-lôSann-la̍k-káu
Bbánlám PìngyīmSnālákkáo
Teochew Peng'imSan1 lag8 gau2

Salakau, also rendered as "Sah Lak Kau" and meaning "three six nine" in Hokkien, is a secret society and gang based in Singapore. The numbers 3, 6 and 9 add up to 18, which was the name of an older gang named after the Eighteen Arhats. As one of the oldest and most prominent gangs in the country, they are known to take part in many illicit activities such as drug trafficking, extortion, prostitution and white-collar crime — and many of their members have been in and out of prison for violent attacks and rioting. They have a Hokkien gang chant usually accompanied by techno beats, particularly the song "Million Tears". It was reproduced in the 2003 Singaporean film 15, albeit with direct references to the gang edited out.