Wellington - An Asian immigrant group's threat to bring Triad gangsters to New Zealand to help fight crime has split the organization, with at least three of its committee members saying they will quit, a newspaper reported Tuesday. The threat came from Peter Low, chairman of the Asian Anti-Crime Group (AAG), which organized a weekend protest march through an Auckland suburb by about 10,000 people, mainly immigrants, demanding more police and tougher penalties for criminals.
But Francis Chai, a Malaysian immigrant, told the New Zealand Herald, "From now on, I want to distance myself from the AAG, which is becoming no different to the criminals and gangs that we are lobbying to have stronger laws against.
"Our original intention was to help victims, educate the community and act as a pressure group, not to go out there and pick fights," he said. "It is all wrong."
The paper said that two other committee members, who did not want to be named, said that they were resigning because of Low's statement that the group would use triad gangs and vigilantes to combat crime, as a last resort if the government and police failed to improve law and order.
The AAG march was organized following three slayings of ethnic Asians last month in Auckland, which is New Zealand's largest city and has the country's biggest Asian population.
Two of the victims were female Chinese immigrants and the third a Sikh liquor store owner shot dead in a burglary.
The triad threat by Low, 55, a businessman who emigrated to New Zealand 21 years ago from Singapore, was condemned by government ministers. Acting Justice Minister Phil Goff said the idea was "utterly objectionable," and added, "These are the very people involved internationally in murder and drug trafficking, including into New Zealand, which is behind some of the worst criminal activity in our society."
Prime Minister Helen Clark told a news conference that she was outraged at the suggestion to use triads, which she described as a curse to law enforcement around the world, adding, "We aim to suppress them and drive them out."
