By : Jassmine Shadiqe 
Police officers paying their last respects to S. Kulasingam at the crematorium in Jalan Templer, in Seremban yesterday. — NST picture by Owee Ah Chun |
JOHOR BARU: Malaysia's own supercop, S. Kulasingam, was once quoted as saying: "How could I die of anything but old age?"
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| S. Kulasingam was dubbed 'the toughest cop the force ever had' after dodging bullets and surviving numerous attempts on his life. |
After dodging bullets and surviving numerous attempts on his life when he was the Kuala Lumpur Criminal Investigation Department deputy chief, the former crimebuster died here yesterday at the age of 77.
His death was due to old-age complications.
The retired assistant commissioner who never married, slipped and fell about a month ago in his apartment in Jalan Sultan Abdul Samad here and was bedridden after undergoing an operation at the Sultanah Aminah Hospital to replace a broken hip.
He died in his sleep at 3.06am.
Kula, as he was popularly known in the police fraternity, was dubbed the "toughest cop the force ever had".
The mere mention of his name was enough to send shivers down the spine of many criminals.
"It's not easy to kill me. I won't go before my number is up," Kula had once said in an interview, after having survived several attempts on his life by desperate gangsters.
The first attempt was on Nov 22, 1975.
He had stopped at a traffic light junction while driving alone when 11 shots were fired at him. One of the bullets shattered his right rib, piercing his liver, and grazed his lungs.
On April 7, 1976, Kula was shot in the stomach during a robbery at a jewellery shop in Paramount Gardens, Petaling Jaya.
He also survived when a 44-pound jar of formic acid was splashed on his legs and chest; when a tree fell, killing a helper instead; when an axe-wielding man rushed at him; and when a patrol car in Sarawak was ambushed - another officer with the same name as him was killed.
Kula, who later held the post of Johor CID chief, was best known for capturing the infamous "Botak Chin", who carried out many robberies in the Klang Valley in the 1970s.
Johor police chief Datuk Hussin Ismail said Kulasingam, which means "lion of the community" in Tamil, would always be remembered for the rare qualities that made him the quintessential policeman.
"He was a man who did not flinch in the face of danger. He was courageous, obstinate and steadfastly devoted to his duties and he held fast to the belief that these qualities made the difference in the fight against crime," Hussin said.
Before joining the police force in 1951, Kula had worked as a teacher for six months. He was only 19 when he joined as a probationary inspector in July, 1951.
His courageous crime-fighting style soon caught the attention of his immediate supervisors, who recommended him for promotion to assistant superintendent of police in August 1957.
Kula served the force with dedication for 35 years. He retired in 1985.
He was also awarded the Ahli Mangku Negara (AMN) for distinguished service in the police force and had been hailed as epitomising the qualities that policemen should be made of - courage, tenacity and selfless devotion.
* funny thing he is known as SUPERCOP but never received any "datuk" "dato" "tan Sri" hmmmm sumthing to ponder..... :)
...acted in Hollywood and received "datuk"
...sailed around the world and swimmed across the sea and received "datuk"
...i have no problem with whoever getting ...but just curious....thats all... :)
