The Ceremony's Over: This Is How Hong Kong's Police Find Triads
First enacted more than 170 years ago, the city's anti-triad legislation has undergone a number of makeovers.
Hong Kong is changing and so is its organized crime. Gone are the days of searching for traces of elaborate triad initiation ceremonies and rituals, and grilling rookies on who their dai los are—chances are, they don’t know.
Criminology lecturer Dr. Kalwan Kwan at the University of Hong Kong says decentralized triad society structures and the anonymity of today’s online culture makes identifying culprits difficult. “There’s absolutely no need for human interaction. You can buy and sell drugs over WhatsApp,” he says.
Professors T. Wing Lo and Sharon Ingrid Kwok wrote that rituals involving smashing bowls, chopping off chicken heads, yellow gauze quilts and seasonal fruit have nowadays been simplified to avoid police detection. Organizational structure is flatter and members are allowed to work with other triad societies. Kwan says the flexibility of today’s triad memberships makes joining more appealing to young recruits.
“Nowadays, young people don’t join triads to make a living, it’s more of a lifestyle choice. Their parents’ generations, for example, would’ve stuck with the same employer for a long time, but, today, job-hopping is very common,” Kwan says. “The same trend applies to young people involved in triad activities—they can be working multiple jobs for multiple bosses without consequences, and quit just as easily.”
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This new, looser structure makes it more difficult for law enforcement to identify whoever is issuing orders. And, as Kwan points out, these criminal masterminds often have the backing of professionals, such as lawyers, accountants and IT personnel, which means the police have to rely on covert surveillance and informants to gather details on triad societies: “The police have evolved to tackle modern triads by enlisting the help of other professionals, as well as going professional themselves,” Kwan says.
Laws have evolved, too. First enacted more than 170 years ago, Hong Kong’s anti-triad legislation has undergone a number of makeovers. Yet, limitations still exist in today’s Societies Ordinance.