Background
It is believed that Sio Sam Ong was established during the 1940s to 1950s; being mainly active in northern Malaysia. According to the Malaysian police, Sio Sam Ong is currently one of the most active triads in Penang and it is believed that its member were actively involved in politics by joining the Malaysian Chinese Association. It is currently headed by Dragon Head, Ong King Ee, nicknamed "Jackie Chan".
According to Penang police the triad had been involved in international drug trafficking, kidnapping, murder, extortion, racketeering, and loansharking at its height. The triad gained notoriety by the slaying of six people in Taman Bersatu, Sungai Petani, in September 1992 . The members were also involved in at least 10 murders in the state in the late '80s and early '90s. There were five members executed for betraying the triad, the remains were exhumed from unmarked graves in Mount Erskine, Penang. Many of its high-ranking members are still high on the Malaysian Police wanted list. Sio Sam Ong is one of the offshoots of the Ang Bin Hoay (Society of the Ang People) triad. Ang Bin Hoay is the Hokkien pronunciation of Hung Meng Hooi, whose origins can be traced back to the beginnings of the Qing dynasty. Hung Meng Hooi was an anti-Manchu secret society.
The organisation adopted the name Hung because Hung was the reigning name of the Ming dynasty emperors, who are descendants of Chu Yuan Chang, the founder of Ming dynasty. Western scholars called the Hung Meng Hooi a triad organisation because there are always three elements in the name of early Hung Meng Hooi societies. For example, the name Heaven and Earth Society (Tien Ti Hui), contains the heavenly, earthly, and human elements (society representing human beings). Triad becomes a convenient way of identifying Chinese secret societies, so much so that a non-Hung Meng Hooi secret society is also called a triad. However the way of identifying is also used by other races such as Indian gang in Malaysia. The famous Indian society '36' or TRIADS 6 announce that soon they will be the most active triad society in Malaysia and Asia.
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