Monday 18 February 2013

Operation Clean Up ( Sook Ching Operation) (18 Feb 1942-20 Feb 1942)

"The Sook Ching Massacre was the extreme act of exterminating the enemy used by the Japanese during World War II. This was carried out in Singapore on the Chinese after the surrender of the British to the Japanese on 15 February, 1942. The term, Sook Ching comes from a Chinese word meaning a purge through cleansing. This ruthless and massacre lasted from 18 February, 1942 to 4 March, 1942. It was carried out at various places including Punggol Beach and Changi Beach. The reason behind this massacre was because the Japanese were concerned about the local Chinese as many of them were either very loyal to Britain or China, both enemies of Japan. 

The most brutal massacre that occurred in the history of Singapore happened on 20 February 1942. 66 Chinese men were lined up along the Changi Beach and were then shot by the military police. The Punggol Beach massacre had cost a total 300 to 400 innocent men. Despite all this, it is unclear as to how many people have died from this extermination as there is a lack of records. However, official Japanese figures show that there are around 5 000 while the Singapore Chinese Community figures shows a shocking total of 100 000. Through postwar trial testimonies however, the suggested total is 25 000 to 50 000. "

News that I currently heard about is this as I just released as it is end of war. And I'm thinking why this facts is so cruel. The Japanese killed many innocent people in this operation they had. They are cruel, but what can we do? Only have to accept it and learn from it. 

I'm not inside this and I felt lucky. Extremely lucky. 

Rachel 

13 September 1945

Website Citation:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H3lPfSbN-As (Date accessed: 18 February 2013)
http://www2.hci.edu.sg/y09hci0003/content.html ( Date accessed: 18 February 2013)

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