Sing Wah / Sing Wo / Shing Wo

TO BE UPDATED

Perhaps one of Sydney's most well known Asian criminal networks - Sing Wah's notoriety peaked in the 2000s, with many social conditions creating the perfect storm for this gang.

Here's a video of NSW Police raiding an internet cafe close to "World Square" on George Street.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nVvJft7oFiQ&t=4s

The media was well prepared before the police raid, meaning the NSW Police in 2001 knew Sing Wah was a very significant problem and decided to publicly announce the "Sing Wah" name to show their awareness to both warn the criminals and demonstrate their acknowledgement of criminal matters to the local Asian community (in the early 2000s Asian immigrants had poor English and a lack of trust in Australian law and police, which was partially the reason for the gang's rapid rise)

There is not a single teenage boy in Sydney from the 2000s and early 2010s who does not know about Sing Wah.

The gangs true origins are unclear, however, it was likely created as a drug-importation gang in the 1980s. The 1990s and 2000s saw a huge growth in membership, particularly the Sydney CBD area, with a huge abundance of fresh recruits coming to Australia as recent immigrants from Asia, and mainland China in particular. The old Chinese international students from 2010 and earlier are nothing like the generation that came in the mid & later 2010s. I believe the main reason for the change in criminal attitude of these students is from 3 main reasons:

1. strengthened law enforcement in mainland China - in 2010 China launched another "Strike Hard Against Violent Crime" campaign which wiped out a huge amount of gang activity by uprooting the underlying corruption. Mainland China in the 2000s, particularly the non 1st tier cities, had very high amounts of gang violence which often came into the schoolyard, calling the police wouldn't work because they were understaffed and often paid out by the criminals. Kids idolized figures like Chan Ho Nam from the "Young and Dangerous" Hong Kong Gangster film series - he has the original "Sing Wah" haircut
2. abundance of mobile phones - it is much harder to call the police when people didn't carry mobile phones in their pockets at all times
3. the economy - since 2005 the average wage in mainland China & other poorer parts of Asia (Vietnam) where these gang members come from have become over 10 times wealthier - the immigrants are no longer poor and desperate for money. Back in the day, gangs and violence were a way for poorer Chinese international students to gain respect and have a group of friends to hang out with. Many students come to Australia on study Visas & cannot find legal employment beyond 20 hours a week, sometimes none at all. Chinese restaurants pay as low as $5 an hour working in kitchens so there was no way to make money legally, many kids turned to drugs, crime and credit card fraud instead.

Due to its widespread notoriety, "Sing Wah" nowadays carries an unknown ambiguity similar to the "crips" or "bloods" in the USA.

Asian criminals in Sydney do not operate in high profile "gangs" or have any "brotherhoods" with each other, unlike Bikie gangs & MEOCs. Relationships are always transactional and many members continue to lead normal lives with legitimate jobs and/or families. Tattoos are always low key and claiming gang names like "Sing Wah", especially after 2010, is mostly for intimidation and stalking purposes as there is no risk of getting called out by a "real" Sing Wah member, because the main branch has long died out.

The pronounciation is spelt differently with two main variations:

1. Sing Wah / Singwa (same pronunciation)
2. Sing Wo / Shing Wo

The official background is: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wo\_Shing\_Wo

1. MURDER OF TREMAINE WATENE In Two Vietnamese Sing Wa members, aged 17 & 22, both from refugee backgrounds are chilling in a poker lounge.
3. Tremaine Watene, a Maori boy who had recently moved to Sydney from New Zealand.

http://financialservicees.blogspot.com/2012/03/nsw-men-jailed-for-killing-schoolboy-in.html

https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/sydneys-fattest-man-once-charged-with-murder-after-gang-members-death-in-pool-hall/news-story/9f2d1ff8afc9a08258054b90261156f1

Jamie Gao: https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/jamie-gaos-death-not-a-murder-but-a-horrific-stuffup-glen-mcnamaras-barrister-tells-court-20160527-gp5tao.html