been introduced to opium back in China and continued the habit of opium-smoking in Singapore. Opium thus became a commodity locally and is popular among the immigrants Chinese population. At that time, not only was opium legal, opium-smoking was also seen as a common social practice for both the rich and the poor Chinese immigrants; offering opium pipes were alike serving them teas. Singapore as a trading port traded 1285 chests of opium in 1836 and increased to 4689 chests of opium in 1856. Opium farms Before 1819, there were existing similar opium farms in earlier settlements of Penang and Melaka; it is common throughout the colonised states in Asia as a way for colonial countries to generate revenue from the foreign population. After turning Singapore into a trading port, the British deployed an opium tax farming system to gain revenue; in 1830, the Opium Regulation was passed. The Singapore farms however, did nothing related to agriculture. The farmers purchased raw opium which was imported from other states, processed it into chandu , and distributes it to local opium shops for retail consumption by the Chinese coolies population. Before the 1840s, no exact record of opium farms was found. It was in 1845 to 1860 that there were records of opium farms under Tay Eng Long, Lao Joon Teck, and Cheang Sam Teo. Between 1847 and 1853, the Temenggong was receiving $350 per month as rental fees for his opium and spirit farms. However, seeing the growth in population in Singapore and the demand for opium, they raise the rental fees for every new contract negotiation. In 1860, the rental fees increased to $8,000 per month. From 1860s onwards, there were increasingly competition for opium farms; forces of Johor farmers and Singapore farmers were openly fighting each other. Opium dens controlled by the farmers, spurred up rapidly with the secret societies. Opium preparation The Chinese farms had a procedure of making opium into chandu which is the process of making raw opium into consumable opium. The process was described as followed: Two balls of opium are cut open and their contents put into an iron pan which is placed on a slow fire; a man keep stirring it with a piece of wood till the whole is dissolved ; it is then divided and placed in two pans, these are inverted over the fire and baked till all moisture is