This is a photograph of Ramasamy Suppiah (third from left) and three of his police colleagues in the Singapore police force, then part of the Straits Settlements. Ramasamy Suppiah is wearing his King's Police Medal on his suit jacket. An inscription on the backing card reads: "From left to right:- SERGEANT CHIK BIN HUSSAIN, SUB-INSP. KADIR B. ABDUL GHANI, DETECTIVE S. M. R. SUPPIAH, SERGEANT MAJOR MAN B. HJ. SALLEH."Ramasamy Suppiah was born in Malacca at the turn of the 20th century. In 1920, he and his Chitty Melaka (Peranakan Indian) wife, Kathai Ammal Chitty, moved to Singapore where he joined the police force, rising to the position of Detective Sergeant-Major.Peranakan Indians (also known as Chitty Melaka or Chetti Melaka) are descendants of South Indian traders (particularly Tamils) who settled in Malacca during the 15th to 16th centuries and married local women of Malay and Chinese descent. They trace their roots to Kampung Chitty, in Gajah Berang, Malacca, and there is a small community numbering approximately 5,000 in Singapore.
