1
The Japanese- Friend or Foe?
“Over 54 years have lapsed since the fall of Singapore, yet many older
Singaporeans will remember vividly the brutalities meted out by the Japanese soldiers.” 1
The first bomb that fell onto our tiny island in December 1941 sounded as an
alarm for all the locals in Singapore at that time, warning them that the Japanese
Occupation was about to take place. Nobody knew that Singapore was about to be
renamed Syonan-To, which means “the light of the South”, nor did anyone know that this
occupation was going to last for three years from 1942 to 1945, or that people were going
to be brutally tortured by the Japanese soldiers. The reason behind choosing this topic is
not to defend the Japanese soldiers or to agree with the cruel things that they did but
because I feel that the nature of humankind should never be too over- generalized, as
most books seemed to do so. Thus, I wish to explore a different side of the Japanese
soldiers at that point of time. A good side of them that might have existed maybe. Hence,
my essay will attempt to look at the way the Japanese soldiers treated Madam Leo Lin
Kam and her family during the Japanese Occupation as well as the other significant
events that took place.
This essay shows the perspective of Madam Leo on the Japanese soldiers and how
she feels towards them. It is only from her point of view and hence, what she had stated
in her interview and how she feels about the Japanese is not enough and cannot represent
the entire majority feelings that people have of the Japanese soldiers. Regardless of this,
many of the events that are related in the interview can be accurately traced back from the
many historical books that are out there.
When the Japanese landed in Singapore and started the Japanese Occupation, they
brought about with them the atrocities of Nanking right to Singapore’s doorstep, even
though the impact of it were not as great as those in China. The Nanking Massacre is
often referred to as “the Rape of Nanking.” When Japan invaded China from 1937 to
1938, at least 300,000 people were murdered. Not only that,“ the Japanese troops raped
over 20,000 women”, “women of all ages were violated, many of them being gang raped
or attacked on multiple occasions.”2
From the interview, I realized that people were quite well informed at that point in
time, as even Madam Leo’s father was aware of these rapes that had already taken place
in China. Hence, he made Madam Leo’s sisters dressed up as old ladies in order to
disguise themselves. Even though there was no proof to support the fact that disguising
up as an old lady worked better in fooling the Japanese, it is true that many girls had tried
to disguise themselves as boys instead. From the interview, Madam Leo stated, “Some of
1
Tan, Beng Luan and Quah, Irene. The Japanese Occupation 1942-1945: a pictorial
record of Singapore During the War. Singapore: Times Editions Pte Ltd, 1996.
(foreword)
2
“The Rape of Nanking.” 22 October, 2004.
<http://www.bergen.org/AAST/Projects/ChinaHistory/rape.html>.
2
the girls were very foolish. They cut their hair short to look like guys but the Japanese
were smart. They could recognize that these were girls at once. So these girls were caught
and taken away.” Her account is backed up by the information in the book “When
Singapore was Syonan-To,” where it states in the book as well “some cut their hair short,
hoping to pass off as boys. These did not do justice to the keenness of the scent and of
eye of the Japanese. They were routed away and carted away.” 3
I also managed to identify two very significant events that took place at that time
from Madam Leo’s interview. The first significant event is the decapitation of looters.
From the interview, we learnt that the punishment for people who stole back then was to
have them beheaded. Although Madam Leo only remembered two incidents of the
decapitation that took place, the Japanese actually beheaded 8 people. With 3 of them
being placed at Dhoby Ghaut near Cathay Cinema, Anderson Bridge and Kallang Bridge.
The purpose of it was to act as a warning for people to stop looting, which Madam Leo
thought that the Japanese’s intention for doing so was good. Although there were no
written records that the looting stopped after that, in some accounts, it was stated that,
“the looting (did) stopped.” 4
Another major event that the Japanese carried out was the Sook Ching (purge
through purification) Operation. It was basically an act of “ethnic cleansing” 5. The
Japanese had always disliked the Chinese since the war in China as they faced strong
opposition and resistance from them. Many Singaporean Chinese were also indirectly
involved as they contributed through the form of money. Hence, when the Japanese
managed to seize control over Singapore, they immediately took the opportunity and set
out to task to rid themselves of the Chinese as getting rid of the Chinese meant the same
as getting rid of any anti- Japanese sentiments among people.
Although Madam Leo did not explicitly state that the events that she went through
were the Sook Ching Operation, I concluded that it was Sook Ching due to several
reasons. During the Sook Ching Operation, there were mass screening centers set up
where people go through a series of checks to see if they were anti- Japanese. This was
very similar to the rounding up session that Madam Leo experienced where the Japanese
“ rounded up everyone onto this huge field around the area.” Also, the other events such
as her father being interrogated and tortured, as well as her brother- in- law and his
friends getting transported to be shot to death were similar to the way “most people who
3
Low, Ngiong Ing. When Singapore was Syonan-To. Singapore: Times Editions, 2004.
Pg. 10
4
Baker, Maurine. A Time of Fireflies and Wild Guavas. Singapore: Federal
Publications, 1995. Pg. 111
5
Chua, Morgan. My Singapore- sketches by Morgan Chua. Singapore: Raffles, 2000.
Ref to Appendix B
3
were picked up for questioning were never seen again. Chinese suspects were loaded onto
lorries and driven away to killing grounds where they were machined- gunned and
bayoneted.” 6 These were all events and measures, which the Japanese took that
constituted the entire Sook Ching operation. As the system of checking of the Sook
Ching operation was very arbitrary, many people “did not know exactly what was the
idea of the whole exercise” 7 or what it was all about. Therefore, I do not find it surprising
that Madam Leo did not know or state anything precise about this operation.
Unlike many civilians at that point of time, Madam Leo’s living conditions were
not as bad as compared to them. Even though the Japanese were generally mean and
cruel, there were nice Japanese soldiers around, such as the ones that Madam Leo and her
family had encountered and made new bonds with- “Fa Wo Siong,” “Guan Gong” and
“Dai Lup Ma.” It was because of them that Madam Leo’s family’s living conditions
improved during such times of hardship. This is not the only example of nice Japanese
soldiers. In “Beyond the Empires: Memories Retold,” in his account, Mr. Goh Koh Pui
also befriended a nice Japanese officer whom “he,” the Japanese officer, “himself did not
like the war.” 8 Dr FAC Oehlers also gave an account of “a particular incident when even
Japanese military personnel showed that they were capable of goodwill and reason.” 9 A
group of them were supposed to confiscate the 2 cars that Dr Oehler’s father- in- law had,
but instead they only confiscated one and left him with the other after he explained that
he was a doctor and needed a car. Thus, as we can see, not all Japanese were bad, despite
the fact that many books only choose to focus on the brutality of the Japanese.
“The Chinese community in Singapore suffered the most.” 10 Many would agree to
this statement. Even Madam Leo did as she said, “it was very obvious that the Japanese
hated the Chinese” and thus, “They treated the Chinese and “ang mohs” very badly.” In
my opinion, Madam Leo is quite well aware of the things that the Japanese have done as
she herself had witness the atrocities of the Japanese such as the time she saw the girl
getting raped by the Japanese soldier. However, at the end of the interview with her, I
feel that the account that she gave me was quite a non- bias one. Some might beg to differ
though, with the reason being that she does not think badly of the Japanese as they had
contributed greatly to her good living condition during the Japanese Occupation.
However, one must not forget that the Japanese killed her father too, and despite that, she
6
Tan, Beng Luan and Quah, Irene. The Japanese Occupation. Pg. 69
7
Ibid, pg. 69
8
Chou, Cindy. Beyond the Empires: Memories Retold. Singapore: Oral History Centre,
National Archives of Singapore, National Heritage Board, 1995. Pg. 8
9
Ibid, pg. 8
10
Baker, Maurine. A Time of Fireflies and Wild Guavas. Pg.119
4
had managed to look beyond the negative portrayal of the Japanese and even established
a friendship with some of them.
I do agree that the Japanese have done a lot of evil deeds during the Japanese
occupation that may have scarred the lives of many. From the interview, I gathered that
Madam Leo has had her fair share of sufferings during the occupation as well. However,
she and her family had chose to look at things from the more optimistic view.
I originally started off choosing this topic because I wanted to highlight a
different perspective on the Japanese. There came a point in time when I was doing my
research that I became less and less convinced if one could ever forgive the Japanese for
what they had done and if they even deserved to be looked at from a better point of view.
Words were not able to describe how horrified I was when I saw pictures of the Japanese
atrocities, especially those at the Nanking Massacre. Yet I later concluded that the
important thing that we need to learn is how “to separate the Japanese military
organization from the Japanese person.” 11 Just like what Madam Leo has said, “not all the
Japanese are bad. Some are good. It’s normal. It’s just like human beings. Some are good
and some are bad.” Hence, perhaps we should give some credit to the Japanese who were
nice during the Japanese Occupation.
11
Chou, Cindy. Beyond the Empires: Memories Retold. Pg. 8
5
Bibliography
Ben-Ari, Eyal and Clammer, John. Japan in Singapore: cultural occurrences and cultural
Flows. Great Britain: Richmond, Surrey: Curzon Press, 2000.
Brazil, David. Insider's Singapore. Singapore: Times Books International, 1999.
Chou, Cindy. Beyond the Empires: Memories Retold. Singapore: Oral History Centre,
National Archives of Singapore, National Heritage Board, 1995.
Chua, Amy. A Picture History of Singapore (3rd Ed). Singapore: Federal Publications,
1997.
Chua, Morgan. My Singapore- sketches by Morgan Chua. Singapore: Raffles, 2000.
G. Uma Devi, et al. Singapore's 100 historic places. Singapore: Archipelago Press in
association with National Heritage Board, 2002.
Lee, Kip Lee. Amber Sands: A boyhood memoir (2nd ed). Singapore: Federal
Publications, 1999.
Low, Ngiong Ing. When Singapore was Syonan-To. Singapore: Times Editions, 2004.
Phua, Edward. Sunny Days of an Urchin (2nd ed). Singapore: Federal Publications, 1999.
P. Lim Pui Huen, Wong Diana. War and Memory in Malaysia and Singapore. Singapore:
Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, 2000.
Tan, Beng Luan and Quah, Irene. The Japanese Occupation 1942-1945: a pictorial record
of Singapore During the War. Singapore: Times Editions Pte Ltd, 1996.
“The Rape of Nanking.” 22 October, 2004.
<http://www.bergen.org/AAST/Projects/ChinaHistory/rape.html>.
6
Oral History Transcript of Madam Leo Lin Kam (October, 2004)
This is an interview with Madam Leo Lin Kam, aged 75, a Chinese, about the Japanese
Occupation and her perspective on the Japanese/ Madam Leo appeared to be very
enthusiastic and delighted about the interview. During my interview with her, Madam
Leo remembered many interesting events that happened to her and her family and I had a
very enjoyable time listening to her account of the Japanese Occupation.
This interview was translated from Cantonese to English.
Background and Location
Joanne (J): Madam Leo, could you please tell me a little about your family
background?
Madam Leo (ML): Well, my parents worked in the coffeeshop that we owned. I had 5
older sisters and I elder brother. My second sister died when she was still a child. I was
about 14 years old when the Japanese Occupation took place. However, despite being 14,
I looked very young for my age, as I was very small, dark and short. So I was often
mistaken for looking like a primary school student back then!
J: So where did you live back then?
ML: Well, we lived at Katong all the while. However, when the Japanese were about to
bomb Singapore, we followed our aunt to an attap house at Changi to live. My 3 oldest
sisters continued to stay at Katong. Only my other sister, brother and I went to Changi.
Who knows, the very next day after we shifted, at Changi, the bomb fell and landed at the
back of our house, where the toilet was! There was a servant in the toilet and she was hit
by the bomb and died. While at Katong, my father dug a tunnel for my 3 sisters to crawl
into to hide. And then he later brought the 3 of them to meet us at Changi. My father was
very slow! He couldn’t climb into the tunnel in time and a wooden plank fell and hit his
bottom! However, we didn’t continue to stay at Changi. An uncle and aunt of ours
worked for an “ang moh” pastor. When he fled for his life, we moved over and stayed at
his house because it was much bigger.
Events that took place when the Japanese came
J: So what happened when the after the Japanese took over Singapore?
ML: After the Japanese took over, they began to search people’s houses. My father was
smart. I remember the moment when we heard that the Japanese were coming to search
our my house, my father immediately made my sisters and my cousin hide above the
toilet cubicle as he heard from others that the Japanese soldiers will caught hold of any
girls that they see and rape them. As I have said before, I looked like a very young child.
Hence I didn’t have to hide. My sisters had a miserable time hiding above the toilet
cubicle, as the space was very small. They couldn’t even sit up straight!
J: So did the Japanese soldiers really come to search your house?
ML: Yes, they did! Luckily my sisters managed to hide in time. They came and they just
wanted to check the number of people we had in our family. When they couldn’t find any
girls in our family, they saw that we had 2 bicycles and they took our bicycles with them.
7
J: So did anything else happen after that?
ML: Yes. A few days after they came to our house, they rounded up everyone onto this
huge field around the area. My sisters too had to come out of the house. They made
themselves up to look like old ladies, wore my aunt’s clothes and tied their hair up in a
bun. Some of the girls were very foolish. They cut their hair short to look like guys but
the Japanese were smart. They could recognize that these were girls at once. So these
girls were caught and taken away. I don’t know what happened to them later.
J: How long did the rounding up session take and what happened after the rounding
up session then?
ML: Nothing. It lasted for about 3 days. Then we were allowed to go home. We didn’t go
back to the pastor’s home. We went back to our coffee shop at Katong instead.
J: I see.. How did you feel going back to your home at Katong?
ML: It was quite sad. Everything was in a mess. The doors were unlocked and a lot of our
things were gone.
J: So what happened after that?
ML: We packed up the place and tried to retrieve as much things as possible and then
opened the shop again.
Living Conditions (Looting)
J: How were the living conditions like for the people after the Japanese came?
ML: For most people, times were hard. There was a lot of poverty as people had not
enough to eat or some even worse. They had nothing to eat!
J: Wasn’t there food rationing? Couldn’t people get food then?
ML: There was. But still, there wasn’t enough food to go around. I was asked to go queue
up to get food as early as 5 am in the morning near Telok Kurau. But I always ended up
getting no food as the older and stronger adults bullied me seeing that I was so small.
They pushed me to the back and took my place in the queue. As I said, times were very
bad. Everyone’s struggling to survive. Some had no choice and went around stealing.
J: Didn’t the Japanese punish people severely for looting? Did you hear or come
across anything like that?
ML: Ya. The Japanese did have heavy punishment for looting. But what to do? There
was no rice and people had to steal. There wasn’t any choice. I didn’t see ah.. But I heard
that at the bridge at Kallang I think, the Japanese chopped off the heads of people who
stole and hung it on the bridge.
J: Why did they do that for? Was it only at Kallang?
ML: They had it at other places too. But I cannot remember exactly where. Cathay had
one I think. Why they did that? It was to warn people not to steal. They even put up a
message there, saying that this is the punishment for looting. What the Japanese were
trying to get across is that people should work hard to get what they want and not steal.
That’s one good point of the Japanese. They want to stop people from stealing from one
another.
J: So how about your family? What were the living conditions like for your own
family?
ML: My family, honestly speaking did not suffer as much as most people.
J: In what way?
8
ML: Well, we got to know 3 Japanese officers who were very kind to us.
Personal account of the Japanese (Living Conditions)
J: 3 Japanese officers? How did you get to know them?
ML: Yes.. 3 Japanese soldiers. I can’t remember what their names were. All I
remembered was that all 3 of them had pretty high ranks in the forces. We gave them
nicknames. One of them was called “Fa Wo Siong”. He’s the one who’s very crazy over
women. But he doesn’t force himself on women like the normal Japanese soldiers. He’ll
woo them by buying them gifts and all. He liked one of my sisters but my mom was
freaked out and immediately married her off. The second one, we called him “Dai Lup
Ma”. He’s half Japanese and half Chinese. We knew the 2 of them as they brought their
workers to our coffee shop for lunch break everyday. The last one, we called him “Guan
Gong” cause he’s got a red face. He’s very intellectual looking and he’s always reading a
book when he comes to our coffee shop. The encounter with “Guan Gong” was quite
funny come to think about it now. At that point of time, it wasn’t though. It started when
he asked one of my aunts if there were any girls in the family as he noticed that there
weren’t a lot of children in our family. My aunt was very absentminded and told him yes
and that there were 3 girls. He then asked to see my sisters. My mother was extremely
furious, however, she had no choice but to ask my sisters to come out from the hiding
place. Luckily for us, he had no ill intentions. He looked at them, and asked my sisters if
they wanted to learn Japanese. Because my sisters couldn’t say no to him, they just
replied that they want to but they didn’t know how. “Guan Gong” then said that he’d
come over to teach them everyday. He told them that Japanese was very difficult but he’ll
teach them. Hence he came over to our coffee shop everyday to teach my sisters the
Japanese language everyday from 11 am to 12 pm. Besides that, he also told us a lot
about Japan.
J: I was just wondering, how did you all communicated with the Japanese soldiers
when all of you didn’t know how to speak Japanese?
ML: Oh, both “Guan Gong” and “Dai Lup Ma” could speak in Chinese. However, “Fa
Wo Siong” can only speak a little. So his was a mixture of Chinese, a lot of Japanese and
a lot of gesturing and hand movements! I think we were very lucky because we were very
respectful and polite towards them. Maybe that was why they like us. Also, I think fate
plays a part that they took a liking to us. It was fate that brought us together.
J: I see. So in what way did your living conditions improved because of the 3
Japanese soldiers?
ML: Well, “Fa Wo Siong” and “ Dai Lup Ma” knew that my family had not enough to
eat and thus, they told us to meet them near their camp at 5 plus in the evening and gave
us the leftover untouched food that the Japanese soldiers in their camp couldn’t finish. It
was a few buckets of food at one time. The buckets that you can find in the bathroom.
And we went to collect the food in it almost everyday. Also, they told the people to
patronize our coffee shop and not the other one across the road or else they’ll behead
them. People were very scared of the Japanese then. That’s why people ended up coming
to our shop. We felt really sorry and bad towards the other coffee shop. But we were not
the ones who told them to do such things. Then it came to “Guan Gong”. He was very
nice to us too. He’ll often ask his kitchen to make Japanese cakes and goodies for us to
try. It was delicious but very very sweet. Sometimes, there were too much and we wanted
9
to give it away, but he’ll refuse to let us do so. So we’ll keep it then give it away later
when he’s gone to people who had no food. On Sundays, he’ll bring us out to watch
movies or to the present day Har Par Villa. He’ll also bring us shopping, which like the
Har Par Villa trip, we didn’t have to pay for anything. The shopkeepers are usually too
scared of the Japanese to actually ask them to pay. He also gives us the younger ones
money sometimes.
J: So when he brought you and your sisters out, did your sisters still have to dress
up as old ladies?
ML: Because we had a Japanese with us, hence it was ok for them to go out as normal.
They didn’t dress up as old ladies. They just went out as themselves.
J: So how did you feel when the 3 Japanese officers went back after the Japanese
Occupation ended?
MK: We parted with them even before the Japanese Occupation ended. They left one
after the other. I remember ”Guan Gong” did mention once that the Japanese wouldn’t
stay in Singapore for a very long time. The reason that he gave was that a lot of countries
were against Japan now as Japan had made a lot of enemies. Shortly after that right, he
died. It was all very sad. They died one after the other.
J: What happened?
ML: Before “Guan Gong” died, he came to bid us goodbye. He came to tell us that he
was sent to some country, I cannot remember where, to fight the war. And that he came
today to bid us farewell, to see us for one last time. He also said that he doesn’t know if
he’ll ever get the chance to come back again but most likely, he won’t be able to come
back. He also said 100 people who went to fight the war, not one of them came back. He
talked till he cried and his tears kept flowing down. Poor thing… Later, he did give us his
photo too but I don’t know where the rest kept the photo. He’s quite good looking. Very
decent looking.
J: Was he very young?
ML: Ah, ya he was! Only in his early or middle 20s. Same for “ Fa Wo Siong” and “Dai
Lup Ma”. “Dai Lup Ma” also talked to us until he cried. He also came to bid his farewell
and he told us that we got to be obedient and listen to our parents. He told my other 2
sisters to get married quickly too just in case they get caught by the other Japanese
soldiers and the Japanese will rape them. He even wrote us a letter in Chinese and told us
to read it after he left. His handwriting was very nice. In his letter, he told us to bless him
and that he was very happy to know us. “Fa Wo Siong” didn’t say much when he came to
see us. But I guess everything’s fated.. We were lucky. Very lucky to have met the 3 of
them.
J: But besides them, did u come across any Japanese who was mean to you or your
family?
ML: Nope. They were not mean to my family or me but I did see horrible things that are
done to other people.
J: Horrible things like what?
ML: There was one time, this girl in the area was caught by a Japanese soldier! She was
dragged all the way to the back alley where the Japanese soldier forced himself on her. It
was obvious that he raped her cause she was crying and all when she came out and her
clothes were all tattered and torn. No one went to her help cause everyone was afraid.
There was this man who lives across the street. I think he offended one of the Japanese
10
soldier. They made him kneel down in the middle of the road and slapped his face again
and again, until his whole face was very swollen. Also, sometimes, the Japanese soldiers
will bring pork to our coffee shop accompanied by their Malay and Indian workers. The
Japanese will get my aunt to prepare the pork. They will force the Malays to eat the pork
and you know how the Malays don’t eat pork right? So when they refused, the Japanese
soldiers will dragged them out onto the streets and shoot them dead. So a lot of the
Malays had no choice but to eat the pork. What’s most important was saving your life
first.
Japanese treatment of the civilians
J: Were there any biasness in the Japanese’s treatment of the civilians based on
their different ethnic group or were they all treated equally?
ML: At first, I couldn’t really tell. It seems like they treated everyone equally. But later, it
was very obvious that the Japanese hated the Chinese. It was because of the war in China.
Many Chinese here were patriotic to their motherland. A lot of Chinese were caught in
lorries and transported to places where they were shot to death. The Japanese also caught
Chinese women and rape them but you never hear of them raping Malays or Indian
women. The Malays and Indians didn’t suffer as much as the Chinese. But I think the
“ang mohs” suffered the most. The “ang mohs” were tortured very very badly.
J: Did you know anyone who got caught by the Japanese?
ML: My father was caught. My brother-in-law and his 2 friends were caught too.
J: What happened? Why did they get caught, do you know?
ML: My father was caught because he made some donations to the Chinese in China. But
this was before the Japanese invaded Singapore. The Japanese found his name in the
donation book where the Chinese Association had to keep a record of who donates what.
Hence, they called him in for interrogation. They tortured him very badly. Later they
released him. I don’t know why but it didn’t matter as long as he was safe. But it was
bad. My father was tortured very badly. His head was very badly injured that it wouldn’t
stop bleeding. He didn’t recover from it completely. His health suffered. He died 6
months after that.
J: I’m sorry.. I was just wondering, was this before you got to know the “Guan
Gong” and all?
ML: Yes. Come to think of it, maybe that’s why they like us. Because they took pity on
us.
J: How about your brother-in –law and his friends then?
They were just caught like that. They were to be transported away to be shot the next day.
But my brother-in-law didn’t want to die. Hence, he went up to the kinder Japanese
soldier and begged him to let him go bid his goodbyes to us first. The Japanese soldier
was very nice. He allowed them to leave but they were to promise to return the next day.
So my brother-in-law and his friends quickly ran home. The next day, his friends came to
look for him to ask him to return with them, but he refused. His friends were scared to
defy the Japanese soldiers though they were scared to die as well. But they decided to
take the chance that maybe the Japanese soldiers will let them go as they kept their
promise. My brother-in-law took the chance that maybe they wouldn’t realize that he
didn’t return. And he was lucky. They didn’t and thus, he survived. It was only after a
11
few days that we realized that a neighbour also got caught. He didn’t die because a body
had fallen on top of him. He told us that he had to sneak his way back as he was scared
that the Japanese will find him and bring him back. It was after the soldiers have left that
he got up. Later, we also found out that my brother-in-law’s 2 friends died.
J: I see. So basically, you think that the Japanese were indeed bias?
ML: Yes. They treated the Chinese and “ang mohs” very badly.
Conclusion
J: So did you have any resentment on the Japanese?
ML: Ermm no la. I mean yes, I am angry with the Japanese for some of the things that
they do. But not all the Japanese are bad. Some are good. It’s normal. It’s just like human
beings. Some are good and some are bad.
J: So on the overall, how did you feel about war, the Japanese Occupation and so
on?
ML: It was a very scary experience. To actually go through it for real. I never want to
experience it again, though my family and I were very very blessed.