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          His name is Singh. Harmon Singh. And he thrives on eavesdropping, snooping and taking pictures of his unsuspecting victims. No, Harmon isn't your regular neighbourhood 'kaypoh'. He's got a licence to peep and snoop all he wants. The former police detective has had his fair share of fighting thugs and underworld criminals, but has since shifted his target from triads to trysts. The celebrated private investigator, more often than not, catches unfaithful spouses in action for his clients. Eyeball's Audrey Lim caught up with the super sleuth, popularly known to his friends as 'goldfinger' for the 14 gold rings that he sports on his fingers.  
     
  By  Audrey Lim  and  Cheryl Sim  
     
         By the time he was 21 years old and still a recruit in Singapore's police force,
Harmon Singh was already a familiar name in the city's notorious underworld.
And no wonder. The young, dedicated detective had a knack for tracking and cracking down on some of Singapore's most notorious gangs and criminals. The feat not only won him numerous accolades in his hey day but literally put him on every gangster's hit list as well.

       His police career which started in 1959, straddled some of the most tumultous days
in Singapore's history, where secret societies and triads thrived in the back alleys of the city.
And Harmon's experiences read like a typical scene from a Hong Kong triad movie.
Over his 20 years with the police force, he's had bullets whizz past him, been stabbed,
lost his teeth and cheated death, all in the call of duty.

       Two years into the job in 1961, while on his way to check on a secret society suspect, Harmon was ambushed by 20 men, one of whom threw acid in his face. But he gritted his teeth and held on tightly to his assailant even as the rest of the gang rained blows on him .
His tenacity and fierce will paid off--the commotion attracted the attention of passers by and forced his attackers to flee, but Harmon held on tight to his quarry.

      Today, the retired detective local newspapers once nicknamed "Dangerman" still ploughs the streets, also in the call of duty. He set up his own private detective agency after his retirement from the police force and the phones are constantly ringing. But Harmon no longer tails gangsters these days--the cases he now handles, more often than not, involve matrimonial issues like adultery, mistresses and libertines. It's a job which keeps him on his toes and allows him to use his professional snooping experience to the fullest. Accolades and awards line the walls of his office-- evidence of his illustrious career as a cop--including one in 1995 for being 'The Most Celebrated Detective of the World'.

       To trail his quarry, he sometimes goes under the guise of a taxi driver (he holds a valid licence) and has access to some 20 private clubs and associations. Not only that,
his linguistic abilities-- he speaks fluent English, Malay, Hindi, Punjabi,Tamil, even Hokkien--have served him well.

       He says he blends well into the background while out on a job. But the quick and adept private eye is able to change his attire quickly if the need arises--throw on a wig, turban or even a beard and Harmon assumes a new personality. "I can change even while on the job tailing someone and the suspect will not have realised it's actually the same person tailing him," he said. Harmon's also been known to put his own clients in disguise, when they request, for example, to see their unfaithful spouses at play.