THE GAME OF CHAP-JI-KI. 69 
day the manager will go to Tangong Pagar, the next day to 
Serangoon, and the day after to Teluk Ayer Street. The 
lottery is never opened in any place more than once ata time. 
In fact these places change every day. 
The places selected are chiefly houses with some means 
of escape through a back door into back streets or by dry- 
ing lofts on the roofs into adjoining houses. The occupiers of 
the houses lent for the purpose of holding these lotteries usually 
received from $5 to $10 as a fee for lending this accommodation. 
Further, the male lottery managers managed to keep themselves 
well informed of what the police were doing by paying gambling 
informers to protect them. The greatest care, too, was taken to 
avoid being raided by the police after going out into the streets. 
The managers and collectors had assistants regularly em- 
ployed to act as spies and follow behind them, and give the 
alarm one or two streets ahead if they saw a suspicious looking 
gharry or rickshaw following, for, of course, if the collectors 
were arrested in the streets, all the cards and packets with the 
stakes were found on their persons. 
It is wonderful how long this Chap-ji-ki lo!tery was carried 
on with complete immunity. It was excellently organised, and 
reflects credit on the skill of its promoters. The executive part 
of the lottery was left almost entirely to Chinese women. A 
few Chinamen kept in the back ground and controlled their 
operations. 
The distinguishing feature between this Chap-ji-ki lottery 
and all other forms of gambling of this kind that have hitherto 
prevailed in our midst is that it was a close one. It was only 
open to one section of the public, i. e., to woman. It was 
also confined practically to the Hok-kien and Teo-Chin Straits- 
born Chinese women. 
The women who supported this lottery, too, were mostly the 
families of the Chinese trading classes of position and standing 
here. The staking amongst the female members of the very 
many wealthiest Chinese families here was very large, and in 
several cases was attended with unpleasant results. It was 
very difficult to get evidence against the promoters of this lot- 
tery. Only collectors were allowed to be present at the open- 
ing of the lottery ; no one except trustworthy and tried women 
were accepted as collectors by the manager. 
