A menace turns Methodist minister

It's a steep climb for Kim Goh from Triad to Methodist minster

"A very nasty young man" is how Kim Goh describes his former self.

He left Singapore trailing a wake of gambling, drug-dealing, womanising and debt.

His crime spree continued through Thailand, America and Europe, where he joined the Triads, until his arrest in the UK.

Prison saw his world shift on its axis as he discovered Christianity and, on leaving, began his journey to Methodist ministry.

Kim Goh's crime rollercoaster ground to a halt on 28 August 1985 - the day he was arrested and remanded in Hull with 257 charges to answer.

By then he was Deputy Godfather in the Triads, dealing in illegal gambling, pirate videos, and immersed in an underworld where he "chased people around Piccadilly with an ice-pick".

Plotting how to get time out of his prison cell, Kim found that claiming to be a Christian would buy him chapel visits on a Sunday.

He chose to be an Anglican: "C of E" sounded posh, he thought, befitting his Triad status.

Then came the day the new chaplain dared to hurry him as he chose a library book, causing Kim to curse everyone from him to the Bishop of Hull to the Archbishops of York and Canterbury.

"And for good measure I threw in the Pope and the Royal Family: then I had a go at God."

Then, according to our foul-mouthed prisoner, God spoke back.

It was a life-changing encounter which led Kim to seek out the Triad Godfather on his release - to offer his resignation.

Ironically, he threatened the Godfather, and his family, with violence if he refused to accept: "I was on the Old Testament, an eye for an eye - I didn't know about grace yet".

Free from both prison and his past, Kim Goh found Bible college beckoning.

Marriage and ministry in the Methodist church were to follow.

So, should you meet him today, he's now The Reverend Kim Goh, and for signs of his former self you'd have to consult his autobiography: "Conquering the Dragon".

Oddly enough that book's often to be found shelved next to another redemption tale: BBC Radio Derby's Johnny Kinch's "Johnny Be Good".

Turns out they're neighbours - you couldn't make it up, could you....