When did the Japanese Occupation took place in Singapore?
It took place on 15th February 1942
And when did it end?
On 6 and 9 August 1945, US bombers dropped atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and on 8 August 1945 the Soviet Union declared war on Japan and invaded Manchuria. Singapore was officially returned to the British Colonial rule on 12th September 1945.
About the Sook Ching Massacre
The Kempeitai (the Japanese military secret police), committed numerous atrocities against the common people. They created a system of "Sook Ching", which means "purge through purification" in Chinese, and it is to get rid of Singaporeans that are anti-Japanese. The Sook Ching Massacre claimed the lives of between 25,000 and 50,000 ethnic Chinese in Singapore and Malaya. These men were rounded up and taken to deserted spots around the island and killed systematically. Moreover, the Kempeitai established a network of informers around the island to help them identify those who resisted. These informers were well-paid by the Kempeitai and had no fear of being arrested. Japanese soldiers patrolled the streets and commoners had to bow to them when they passed by. Those who failed to respect the Japanese would be slapped, beaten or wold be taken away.
More information about the World War II in Singapore
- The Japanese set up schools for and forced Singaporean to learn Japanese. Textbooks are printed in Japanese and every morning the children had to stand facing the direction of the Japanese flag and sing the Japanese national anthem.
- In cinemas, only Japanese movies and propaganda films are available. The films not only portrays the virtues of the Japanese but also made fun of the British. Going to the cinema might be dangerous, the Japanese might appear and capture young men to work on the Death Railway. Sometimes planting themselves in the cinemas and secretly eavesdropping, hoping to overhear anti-Japanese remarks.
- In cinemas, only Japanese movies and propaganda films are available. The films not only portrays the virtues of the Japanese but also made fun of the British. Going to the cinema might be dangerous, the Japanese might appear and capture young men to work on the Death Railway. Sometimes planting themselves in the cinemas and secretly eavesdropping, hoping to overhear anti-Japanese remarks.
Our war heroes of Singapore during the World War II
Elizabeth Choy
Elizabeth Choy Su-Meiwas born on 29 November 1910 in Kudat, Sabah. She was a Hakka from North Borneo.
Elizabeth Choy was a Singaporean educator and a councillor. She supplied medicine, money and messages secretly to prisoners-of-war along with her husband.
Unfortunately, they were caught and was arrested. Her husband was first arrested on 29 October 1943 and then Elizabeth Choy on 15 November 1943.
The Japanese believed that their activities were related to the "Double Tenth" incident which is where the Japanese arrested 57 prisoners for a possible involvement of a sabotage mission which destroyed 6 Japanese oil tankers at Keppel Harbour.
She was then interrogated by the Japanese but she never admitted that she was a British sympathiser. She went through starvation and tortures before being released.
After the war, Elizabeth Choy traced her husband's whereabout and found him at Outram Gaol with a British officer and freed him.
The red cross offered them to live in Britain as their house was destroyed. Elizabeth Choy accepted the offer and flew to Britain in 1946.
In the same year, Elizabeth Choy and her husband were awarded the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for their efforts during the war and returned to Singapore before Christmas eve in 1949.
When she returned, she received the medal at an official ceremony. She contested in the Municipal Council Elections and become the first woman to be nominated as a member of the the legislative Council and retired in 1955.
Adapted from:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_Choy
Elizabeth Choy was a Singaporean educator and a councillor. She supplied medicine, money and messages secretly to prisoners-of-war along with her husband.
Unfortunately, they were caught and was arrested. Her husband was first arrested on 29 October 1943 and then Elizabeth Choy on 15 November 1943.
The Japanese believed that their activities were related to the "Double Tenth" incident which is where the Japanese arrested 57 prisoners for a possible involvement of a sabotage mission which destroyed 6 Japanese oil tankers at Keppel Harbour.
She was then interrogated by the Japanese but she never admitted that she was a British sympathiser. She went through starvation and tortures before being released.
After the war, Elizabeth Choy traced her husband's whereabout and found him at Outram Gaol with a British officer and freed him.
The red cross offered them to live in Britain as their house was destroyed. Elizabeth Choy accepted the offer and flew to Britain in 1946.
In the same year, Elizabeth Choy and her husband were awarded the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for their efforts during the war and returned to Singapore before Christmas eve in 1949.
When she returned, she received the medal at an official ceremony. She contested in the Municipal Council Elections and become the first woman to be nominated as a member of the the legislative Council and retired in 1955.
Adapted from:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_Choy
Lim Bo Seng
Lim Bo Seng was born in China, in the Fujian Province, on 27 April 1909.
He was a loyal Chinese patriot who took part in fund-raising to raise funds to help China in the war against Japan in 1937. He encouraged people to boycott Japanese goods.
In the 1930s, with Tan Choon Lim, he participated in the anti-Japanese activities in Singapore, supporting the China Relief fund.
Upon the request of Sir Shenton Thomas and then the governer, he formed the Chinese Liaison Committee to assist in civil defence.
As Kota Bahru fell in Malaya in 1942, Lim Bo Seng and Tan Kah Kee organised more than 10,000 men for the British government to provide essential services and to construct defences around the island.
As the Japanese troops descended upon Singapore, his men helped to blowup the Causeway. Before Singapore fell to the Japanese, Lim Bo Seng escaped to India to join a British resistance group called Force 136 and he was trained by the British for intelligence work.
Force 136 was a force formed by the British and Chinese governments in June 1942 to support resistance groups behind enemy lines and to coordinate guerilla operations in support of the eventual British invasion of Malaya and in 1943, he went to China to recruit man for Force 136.
Together with the Force 136 members, they landed in Japanese-occupied Malaya by submarine later that year and set up an intelligence network in the urban areas in Pangkor, Lumut, Tapah and Ipoh.
While they were on a mission in Ipoh on 27 March 1944, he was betrayed by the Malayan Communist Party leader Lai Teck, and was caught by the Japanese at a road checkpoint.
Lim Bo Seng was then taken to the Kempeitai headquarters for interrogation.
He refused to provide any information to the Japanese about Force 136 despite being tortured.
He died in the Batu Gajah Jail, Perak, on 29 June 1944.
Lim’s remains were disinterred from the jail in December 1945 and reburied in Singapore on 13 January 1946, on a hill overlooking the MacRitchie Reservoir. In February 1946, the Chinese Nationalist Government posthumously awarded him the rank of Major-General.
Adapted from:
http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/infopedia/articles/SIP_802_2004-12-28.html?utm_expid=85360850-6.qNOOYF40RhKK6gXsQEaAJA.0&utm_referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com.sg%2F
He was a loyal Chinese patriot who took part in fund-raising to raise funds to help China in the war against Japan in 1937. He encouraged people to boycott Japanese goods.
In the 1930s, with Tan Choon Lim, he participated in the anti-Japanese activities in Singapore, supporting the China Relief fund.
Upon the request of Sir Shenton Thomas and then the governer, he formed the Chinese Liaison Committee to assist in civil defence.
As Kota Bahru fell in Malaya in 1942, Lim Bo Seng and Tan Kah Kee organised more than 10,000 men for the British government to provide essential services and to construct defences around the island.
As the Japanese troops descended upon Singapore, his men helped to blowup the Causeway. Before Singapore fell to the Japanese, Lim Bo Seng escaped to India to join a British resistance group called Force 136 and he was trained by the British for intelligence work.
Force 136 was a force formed by the British and Chinese governments in June 1942 to support resistance groups behind enemy lines and to coordinate guerilla operations in support of the eventual British invasion of Malaya and in 1943, he went to China to recruit man for Force 136.
Together with the Force 136 members, they landed in Japanese-occupied Malaya by submarine later that year and set up an intelligence network in the urban areas in Pangkor, Lumut, Tapah and Ipoh.
While they were on a mission in Ipoh on 27 March 1944, he was betrayed by the Malayan Communist Party leader Lai Teck, and was caught by the Japanese at a road checkpoint.
Lim Bo Seng was then taken to the Kempeitai headquarters for interrogation.
He refused to provide any information to the Japanese about Force 136 despite being tortured.
He died in the Batu Gajah Jail, Perak, on 29 June 1944.
Lim’s remains were disinterred from the jail in December 1945 and reburied in Singapore on 13 January 1946, on a hill overlooking the MacRitchie Reservoir. In February 1946, the Chinese Nationalist Government posthumously awarded him the rank of Major-General.
Adapted from:
http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/infopedia/articles/SIP_802_2004-12-28.html?utm_expid=85360850-6.qNOOYF40RhKK6gXsQEaAJA.0&utm_referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com.sg%2F
Lee Kuan Yew
Lee Kuan Yew experienced the toughest years of the Japanese occupation from 1942–1945.
During the war, Lee learnt Japanese and first worked as a clerk in his grandfather's friend's company.
He realised that the Japanese was going to lose the war. He feared that a brutal war would break out in Singapore as the Japanese made their last stand, he decided to purchase and move to a farm on the Cameron Highlands with his family.
However, a liftboy in his office told him that his file had been taken out by the security department.
He also realised that he was being followed by a Japanese security personnel that was following him for three months hence, he abandoned those plans as he knew if he went ahead, he would be in trouble.
Lee Kuan Yew also ran his own business during the war to survive which manufactured glue under his own brand name called "Stikfas"
During the World War II, a Japanese guard asked Lee Kuan Yew to join a group of segregated Chinese men. Sensing that something was amiss, he asked for permission to go back home to collect his clothes first, and the Japanese guard agreed.
It turned out that those who were segregated were taken to the beach to be shot as part of the Sook Ching Massacre .
The occupation had a profound impact on the young Lee, who recalled being slapped and forced to kneel for failing to bow to a Japanese soldier.
Lee Kuan Yew survived and built a more developed country, so that Singaporeans do not have to go through the same experience that they had to go through in the past.
He was the first Prime Minister of Singapore, governing for three decades and is also known as the father of Singapore.
Without him, the people in Singapore, would not be living in such a well-developed country.
Adapted from:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lee_Kuan_Yew
During the war, Lee learnt Japanese and first worked as a clerk in his grandfather's friend's company.
He realised that the Japanese was going to lose the war. He feared that a brutal war would break out in Singapore as the Japanese made their last stand, he decided to purchase and move to a farm on the Cameron Highlands with his family.
However, a liftboy in his office told him that his file had been taken out by the security department.
He also realised that he was being followed by a Japanese security personnel that was following him for three months hence, he abandoned those plans as he knew if he went ahead, he would be in trouble.
Lee Kuan Yew also ran his own business during the war to survive which manufactured glue under his own brand name called "Stikfas"
During the World War II, a Japanese guard asked Lee Kuan Yew to join a group of segregated Chinese men. Sensing that something was amiss, he asked for permission to go back home to collect his clothes first, and the Japanese guard agreed.
It turned out that those who were segregated were taken to the beach to be shot as part of the Sook Ching Massacre .
The occupation had a profound impact on the young Lee, who recalled being slapped and forced to kneel for failing to bow to a Japanese soldier.
Lee Kuan Yew survived and built a more developed country, so that Singaporeans do not have to go through the same experience that they had to go through in the past.
He was the first Prime Minister of Singapore, governing for three decades and is also known as the father of Singapore.
Without him, the people in Singapore, would not be living in such a well-developed country.
Adapted from:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lee_Kuan_Yew