By Thulaja, Naidu Ratnala written on 22-May-2002
National Library Board Singapore

Comments on article: InfopediaTalk

Opium (Papaver somniferum), contributed significantly to the general trade in Singapore's pioneering years. Encouraged by the British colonial government, it reaped heavy profits from opium licenses although many Chinese coolies succumbed to this vice as they tried to escape from the harsh reality of their mundane lives. Despite a ban of the narcotic and addictive drug in 1943, the opium trade continued clandestinely, so a death penalty was introduced for opium drug dealers and peddlers in 1989 to put a complete stop to it.

Description
Opium, a.k.a. Opium Poppy (Papaver somniferum) belongs to the family Papaveraceae. The plant is a herb measuring between 50 cm. to 150 cm. in height. The flower buds bloom into erect flowers with petals ranging from white to purplish and in varieties also pink, violet, bluish, or red colours. The petals drop many days after flowering with only the bulbous green capsules or pods remaining atop the stalks. Opium, a milky latex, is collected from these pods. The milky latex is dried and then sold for consumption. Morphine is extracted from unripe capsules. The main chemical constituents of opium are codeine, papaverine, noscapine, and morphine. Heroin is synthesised from morphine. Though papaverine is non-addictive and relives muscle soreness or pain, codeine is a narcotic substance. Medically, codeine works as an analgesic, cough suppressant and hypnotic, while morphine is a pain-killer. But morphine is also addictive. As the body builds tolerance towards morphine, larger quantities are required for it to work effectively as a pain killer. Large doses of morphine prove to be fatal by causing respiratory arrest.

Opium is used in folk medicine to treat a range of illnesses such as asthma, cancer, catarrh, cold, conjunctivitis, cough, diarrhoea, dysmenorrhoea, fever, hypertension, hysteria, insomnia, malaria, melancholy, nausea, rheumatism and even snakebites, apart from pain-related illnesses such stomach-ache, swelling and toothache. Native of the regions east of the Mediterranean to Iran, opium plants are today found growing in many tropical, subtropical, and warm temperate countries all over the world. It is cultivated in China, India and other parts of Asia, popularly in the Golden Triangle -- an area spanning parts of Burma, Laos, Thailand and China -- for local consumption and for illicit trade purposes to peddle in other countries.

Opium smoking and trade
Early history
Opium smoking was an accepted social grace, by both the elite and the poor alike, in 19th century China. The practice of offering an opium pipe to a visitor was a simple one, akin to that of serving tea. When the Chinese migrated to the Straits settlements, the practice of opium smoking was brought over to Singapore. In 1848, the Chinese who made up the majority of the local population here amounted to 20,000 and during this time there were about 15,000 opium smokers who were mostly coolies, with the poor and the elderly making up a degree of addicts. With little family support, scarce entertainment and a difficult life of labour, opium smoking was a form of escape from their harsh reality, rather than as a form of social grace.

However, it proved an expensive and addictive habit. An increase in price of opium led to an escalation of crime rate. Many resorted to stealing, abduction and theft to support their habit. Although opium dens could only operate with licenses issued by the government, there were many other illegal operators with close ties to secret societies.

Opium dens and opium trade
The opium dens in town were mostly double storied brick houses while the rural areas had humble dens with attap rooftops. Popular areas where opium smoking dens were found were streets in Chinatown such as Pagoda Street and Trengganu Street. Places in Tanjong Pagar, the Rochor areas around Sungei Road, Duxton Street, Amoy Street and Beach Road were popular areas for opium dens even in the 1970s though opium was banned by the government here in 1943. Prior to 1943, these dens were legally required to close by 9pm. However, most smokers would retire to makeshift quarters inside these dens to continue their vice till midnight. The rooms inside were lined with wooden benches. Men in pairs shared a dim lamp between them and smoked leisurely whilst lying on the benches.

The opium trade fetched profitable returns considering the fact that the colonial government actually supported this practice and most smokers were already addicted to smoking opium. It made for such a roaring business that from 1898 to 1906, the average annual revenue from opium was 49% of the total income of the Straits Settlements. The government earned most of its revenue by franchising the opium trade to wealthy Chinese businessmen. Famous names in the opium trade include Lau Joon Tek, Cheang Sam Teo who made up the Lau-Cheang Syndicate, Heng Bun Soon, Tan Seng Poh and Cheang Hong Guan. Cheong Hong Lim and Tan Seng Poh were other well-known names who partnered with Tan Yeok Nee (b.1827 - d .21 May 1902, Saling, China) in spirit and opium farming. Opium or chandu, as it was known in Malay for cooked opium, was commonly inhaled or smoked. The ash or residue after opium was smoked for the first time was also recovered by shopkeepers and sold for a cheaper rate.

Singapore saw a rise of the opium syndicate in the mid-19th century as opium and spirit farms grew increasingly common here and in Johor, Melaka and Riau. Competition between Johor and Singapore's spirit and opium farmers resulted in frequent fights between syndicates. Violence between various secret societies or triads often arose from desire to control of the opium trade but the fights then spilled into the gambier and pepper trade as well. Sometime around 1866, Singapore and Johor opium farms united, putting the spirit farmers at a disadvantage. But by 1868, the fights that had simmered down erupted again for unknown reasons. Rental for opium farms here grew to an exorbitant 5,321,480 Spanish dollars in 1914 from 960,000 Spanish dollars in 1883. The collapse of Singapore's great syndicate headed by farmers Cheang Hong Lim, Tan Seng Poh and Tan Hiok Nee in the 1880s and the demise of the farming system before the turn of the 19th century saw significant changes in the local opium trade. Despite this, and with many changes and adaptations to the modus operandi of opium trade, it still continued well into the 20th century.

Later developments
At the turn of the 20th century, opium addiction was still widespread amongst the Chinese. In 1907 an Opium Commission was appointed to assess the extent of opium smoking and set up measures to end t this social menace. Prior to that, an anti-opium movement was started by prominent citizens of the settlements to take action against opium sale and use. The Opium Commission recommended a ban on opium sale to women and children under 18 years of age. The Chandu Revenue Ordinance was enacted in 1909 followed by the creation of the Monopolies Department a year later. The sale of opium now became controlled and in 1925, the government issued licences to opium smokers to use it in their own premises. Four years later supplies of opium were rationed and registration of opium smokers became compulsory. In 1933, the Chandu Revenue Ordinance was amended and opium possession was banned by those under 21 years of age. In 1934, opium possession was banned by anyone who did not have a medical practitioner's certification that they needed opium for health reasons. However, there were still supposedly 16,552 opium addicts in 1941. During 1942 to 1945, the period of the Japanese Occupation, the number of opium addicts rose to a high of 30,000.

The work of curbing this vice was helped through the efforts of social activists such as the Methodist philanthropist, Chen Su Lan who started the Anti-Opium Clinic in 1929. Although the anti-opium movement recognised the ill effects of the vice, the government did not begin to issue a prohibition until much later. It was during the Japanese Occupation on 10 November 1943, that opium sales were prohibited in the Straits Settlements. Still opium consumption continued clandestinely right into the late 20th century. The total number of drug addicts arrested, including opium addicts, rose from 4,730 in 1987 to 6,062 in 1988. Therefore the government amended the Misuse of Drugs Act in mid-1989 to include other forms of drugs such as hashish and cocaine apart from the existing heroin and morphine, so that those dealing or consuming these drugs can be dealt with existing laws. On 30 November 1989, the government passed a bill to extend the death penalty to cocaine, cannabis and opium traffickers including manufacturers, importers and exporters in an attempt to bring about a complete stop to drug and opium abuse in Singapore.

In 1998, 40 opium addicts were arrested in Singapore which is less than one per cent of the total 4,502 drug addicts arrested here. Heroin is the main drug scourge in Singapore, with four out of five addicts here hooked on it. 



Author
Naidu Ratnala Thulaja



References 
Ong, T. H., & Isralowitz, R. E. (1996). Substance use in Singapore: Illegal drugs, inhalants and alcohol (pp.40-43). Singapore: Toppan Company.
(Call no.: RSING 362.29095957 ONG) 

Song, O. S.(1984). One hundred years' history of the Chinese in Singapore (pp.162, 168, 170, 191, 208, 335, 598). Singapore: Oxford University Press.
(Call no.: RSING 959.57 SON)

Tan, T. T. (1986). Your Chinese roots: The overseas Chinese story (pp.58 - 72). Singapore: Times books international.
(Call no.: RSING 301.451951 TAN)

Trocki, C. A. (1990). Opium and empire: Chinese society in colonial Singapore, 1800-1910 (pp.1-6, 50-81, 117-182, 183-239). New York: Cornell University Press.
(Call no.: RSING 959.5703 TRO)

Chua, C. H. (1999, April 12). Busted: 1990s' largest opium syndicate. The Straits Times, p.3

Death for opium, cannabis, cocaine dealers soon. (1989, May 30). The Straits Times, p.17. 

Death penalty extended to cocaine cannabis and opium dealers. (1989, December 1). The Straits Times, p.27. 

Erowid.org. (1995-2003). Opium and opiates. Retrieved February 24, 2004, from www.erowid.org/chemicals/opiates/opiates.shtml

Erowid.org. (1995-2003). Poppies. Retrieved February 24, 2004, from www.erowid.org/plants/poppy/poppy.shtml

Purdue University. (2001). Papaver somniferum L. Retrieved February 24, 2004, from www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/duke_energy/Papaver_somniferum.html


Further Readings
Lee, T. T. (Ed.). (1988). Early Chinese immigrant societies: Case studies from North America and British Southeast Asia. Singapore: Heinemann Asia.
(Call no.: RSING 305.8951059 EAR)

Purcell, V. (1965). The Chinese in Southeast Asia. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
(Call no.: RSEA 325.2510959) 

Li, L. (1993, October 4). How grandfather gave up opium-smoking. The Straits Times, Life!, p.17.

Lim, P. H. (1994, January 29). Of silk and spices, opium and oil. The Business Times, p.4.

Chen C. N and Lau, E., TRAC Board of Christian Education (Ed.). (1997, May). Preaching through his practice. Retrieved December 16, 2004, from www.trac-mcs.org.sg/discipleship/pdf/csl.pdf 



The information in this article is valid as at 2002 and correct as far as we can ascertain from our sources. It is not intended to be an exhaustive or complete history of the subject. Please contact the Library for further reading materials on the topic.