 |
In the Chinese language, “sook ching” roughly means “a purge through cleansing”. It has been applied to the activities that took place in Singapore following the British defeat in 1942. This loss not only left Britain bereft of its most powerful presence in southeast Asia, it also left the hundreds of thousands of Singapore’s residents with little or no protection against their new occupiers.
When Russia invaded Poland in 1939, they brought with them lists. Those lists contained the names of public officials, police officers, university professors, musicians…anyone who was considered to be a threat to the Soviets. These people were rounded up and summarily executed.
Similarly, the Japanese brought lists with them to Singapore. These lists were more generic, but they were lists just the same. They were looking for people active in the China Relief Fund and its wealthy contributors. They sought out individuals who showed loyalty to, or were active members of, Chinese dissident groups. And they looked for British sympathizers, Chinese gang members, and a catch-all group of “security risks”.
The implementation of this search focused on screening centers, set up all over the city-state. All Chinese males between 18 and 50 years of age were to be rounded up and taken to the centers. If they were deemed safe, they were stamped with the word “examined” on their face or arm and allowed to return home. Those not deemed safe were marked with triangles, taken to one of several sites, and executed.
Of course, once word started spreading about what was happening, order began to break down and the process became less discriminant and more random. Many victims, whose only crime was being born a Chinese man or woman, were marked with triangles. Many others were simply killed without any screening at all.
Official death counts are difficult to get. The Japanese leaders of that time, for reasons that are obvious, either didn’t keep good records, or simply whitewashed them. In their ledgers, the Sook Ching Massacre, which began on February 18, 1942 and ended on March 3rd, claimed fewer than 5,000 lives. But as we have seen before, “official” numbers may tell only a fraction of the real story. Other claims have put the count at more than 100,000 killed. The true number will never be known, but probably lies somewhere in the middle.
When the war ended, several Japanese officers were tried for leading the massacre. Two were executed while the others received life sentences. Japan eventually made reparations payments to Singapore but, to my knowledge, never officially apologized for the actions of its military. And for many Singaporeans, this was small consolation for the lives of their friends and families that had been ended simply because of their race.
Today's History Lesson 
Hi Joel,
Thank you for the post. I have linked your page to my blog, thepaintedskin.com via the image. My father was in Singapore during the massacre and he told me stories about that very dark period.
How does a country continue to show no remorse or guilt for the heinous multitude of atrocities they inflicted on so many neighboring countries overrun by their brutal military machine! Japan’s so-called “East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere” that they arrogantly claimed they were organizing for the protection of all Asian nations was obviously a huge farce! The Rape of Nanking and the Sook-Ching massacre are just a few examples of the condoned bloodshed that Tojo and his henchmen approved of from Tokyo!
[…] anyone, about her two brothers’ fate. During the war, the Japanese targeted Chinese men in the Sook Ching massacre though it was never known if the brothers suffered that […]
Thank you. Your effort will make sure that people never forget such tragedy and inhumanity.
My paternal great grandfather died during WW2 by the Japanese. He was working in a bank then, was taken away and never be seem again. I have stopped patronizing japanese restaurants and stopped buying their products. They have never apologized sincerely, with their conflicting action of praying at the yasukuni shrine, how can we forgive them if they are not sincere?
After the war the British authorities only asked for compensation for losses by British citizens in Singapore, totally ignoring the claims of thousands of Chinese who suffered death torture and economic destitution. It is small wonder that the European powers lost their possesions soon after the war.
My great grandfather was taken away and never came back.