Food Rationing

There was a scarce of food and resources. The price of basic necessities increased a lot due to hyperinflation. For example, the price of rice increased from $5 per 100 catties (about 60 kg or 130 lb) to $5000. So the Japanese issued ration cards to limit the amount of resources received by the civilian population. Once a month, people would line up at the kumiai shop (distribution association) for hours to purchased whatever rations that were available.

Sources: CPDD Ministry Of Education. (2007).Singapore From Settlement To Nation Pre 1819 To 1971. Singapore. Marshall Cavendish Education.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_occupation_of_Singapore (Date accessed: 17 Feb 13)

A food ration card

The Japanese Occupation

The fall of Singapaore marked the beginning of a brief but tumultuous chapter of Singapore's history. Singapore was reamed 'Syonan-to'' which meant 'the Light of the South' or 'the Radiant South'.

The Japanese used fear to rule Singapore. The cruelty of the Kempeitai kept people in a constant state of anxiety and fear. At the slightest offence, punishment was swift and severe. Many anti-Japanese suspects were subjected to terrible torture or decapitation at the Kempeitai centre. The Eurasians were treated harshly because the Japanese felt they were a threat to them. Some Eurasians were members of the SIngapore Volunteer Corps and had fought against the Japanese. Many were put in prison camps. Those suspected of helping the British were put to death.

To remove Western Influence, the Japanese promoted the Japanese spirit (Nippon Seishin). Every school, government building and Japanese company began with a morning assembly. Those present at such gatherings had to stand facing the direction of Japan and sing the Japanese national anthem (Kimigayo). Taisho or mass drills were made compulsory for students, teachers, staff of companies and government servants. Teachers had to learn Japanese several times a week. The students received their daily Japanese lessons on the schools' broadcasting service.

Source: CPDD Ministry Of Education. (2007).Singapore From Settlement To Nation Pre 1819 To 1971. Singapore. Marshall Cavendish Education.

Sook Ching Massacre

Sook Ching Massacre(18 Feb to 4 March 1942)

Operation Sook Ching meaning "to purge" or "eliminate" was a massive Japanese exercise to ferret the local Chinese community for anti-Japanese elements, conducted by the 25th Army beginning on 18 February 1942 and resulting in the massacre of thousands of local Chinese.

Massacre sites 
Ponggol Beach.Changi Beach/ Changi Spit Beach: Victims from Bukit Timah/Stevens Road (Sook Ching point).Changi Road 8 ms 300 acre plantation (Samba Ikat village): 250 victims from Changi 8 ms (Sook Ching point).
Hougang 8 ms: Six lorry loads of people were said to have been massacred here.
Katong 7 ms: 20 trenches were dug.Beach opposite 27 Amber Road: Two lorry loads of people were said to have been massacred here; the site is now a car park.Tanah Merah Beach/Tanah Merah Besar Beach: 242 victims taken from Jalan Besar Sook Ching point; currently a runway of Changi airport.Thomson Road: Sime Road, near golf course and the villages in the vicinity.Katong, East Coast Road: 732 victims from Telok Kurau School (Sook Ching point).Siglap area, Bedok South Avenue/Bedok South Road: Previously known as Jalan Puay Poon.Blakang Mati Beach, off the Sentosa Golf Course: Many bodies of the massacred victims were washed ashore and were buried.

The Screening and Execution 

Under Oishi's command were 200 regular Kempeitai officers and another 1000 auxiliaries who were mostly young and rough peasant soldiers. Singapore was divided into sectors with each sector under the control of an officer. The Japanese set up designated "screening centers" all over Singapore to gather and "screen" all Chinese males between the ages of 18 and 50.Those who were thought to be "anti-Japanese" would be eliminated. Sometimes, women and children were also sent for inspection as well.

The ones who passed the "screening"  would receive a piece of paper bearing the word "examined" or have a square ink mark stamped on their arms or shirts. Those who failed would be stamped with triangular marks instead. They would be separated from the others and packed into trucks near the centers and sent to the killing sites.

Killing of the people on the beach.

There were several sites for the killings, the most notable ones being Changi Beach, Punggol Beach and Sentosa (or Pulau Blakang Mati). The Punggol Beach Massacre saw about 300 to 400 Chinese shot at Punggol Beach on 28 February 1942 by the Hojo Kempei firing squad. The victims were some of the 1,000 Chinese males detained by the Japanese after a door-to-door search along Upper Serangoon Road. Several of these men had tattoos, a sign that they could be triad members.

The current Changi Beach Park was the site of one of the most brutal killings in Singaporean history. On 20 February 1942, 66 Chinese males were lined up along the edge of the sea and shot by the military police. The beach was the first of the killing sites of the Sook Ching massacre, with another one at Tanah Merah. Another site was Berhala Reping at Sentosa Beach (now Serapong Golf Course after land reclamation). Surrendered British gunners awaiting Japanese internment buried some 300 bullet-ridden corpses washed up on the shore of Sentosa. They were civilians who were transported from the docks at Tanjong Pagar to be killed at sea nearby.

Sources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sook_Ching_massacre
              http://infopedia.nl.sg/articles/SIP_40_2005-01-24.html (Date accessed: 17 Feb 13)

How did Singapore Fall to Japanese

The fall of Singapore to the Japanese Army on February 15th 1942 is considered one of the greatest defeats in the history of the British Army and probably Britain’s worst defeat in World War Two.

On January 31st 1942, the British and Australian forces withdrew across the causeway that separated Singapore from Malaya. It was clear that this would be their final stand. Percival spread his men across a 70 mile line – the entire coastline of the island. This proved a mistake. Percival had overestimated the strength of the Japanese. His tactic spread his men out for too thinly for an attack.

Japanese soldiers on bikes as a means of transport

On February 8th, 1942, the Japanese attacked across the Johor Strait. Many Allied soldiers were simply too far away to influence the outcome of the battle. On February 8th, 23,000 Japanese soldiers attacked Singapore. They advanced with speed and ferocity. At the Alexandra Military Hospital, Japanese soldiers murdered the patients they found there. Percival kept many men away from the Japanese attack fearing that more Japanese would attack along the 70 mile coastline. He has been blamed for failing to back up those troops caught up directly with the fighting but it is now generally accepted that this would not have changed the final outcome but it may only have prolonged the fighting.

A reconstructed scene showing Lieutenant-General
Percival and his men in the Fort Canning bunker
before the surrendered. 

On 15 February 1942, which was the Chinese New Year, the British had a final conference at the Fort Canning bunker. Lieutenant-General Percival wanted to discuss ways to counter-attack but his commanders were against the idea. They felt that there were too many problems and the soldiers were tired. More men would be killed if they were to engage the Japanese in street fighting. Furthermore, their supplies of food and water were running out. To prevent further bloodshed, the British opted for surrender. On 15 February 1942, Japanese Lieutenant-Colonel Sugita led Percival and his delegation to the Ford Motor Factory to negotiate the surrender terms. 

Sources: http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/fall_of_singapore.htm (Date accessed: 16 feb 13)
CPDD Ministry Of Education. (2007). Singapore From Settlement To Nation Pre 1819 To 1971. Singapore. Marshall Cavendish Education.