Feature: Singapore holds memorial service for civilian victims of Japanese occupation during World War II

It's been 48 years. Every Feb. 15, Loh Weng Kee wept in front of the memorial monument where the memorial service of civilian victims of the Japanese occupation during the World War II is held on Sunday.

He, now a 74 year-old man with white hair, is an energetic and enthusiastic person. However, every time he recalls the memory of old days during the Japanese occupation, tears just stream down unstoppable.

"My father was killed by the Japanese ..." He was not able to continue after saying this.

It's painful every time he gets back here, but there's still one thing he cannot let go.

"The Japanese have not apologized to us until now, we cannot forgive them," he said while wiping his tears. "They must admit the history, they must reflect."

Loh said he and his family attend the memorial every year. " This year I brought with me my wife, my children and grandchildren. I want them to bear in mind. They must come over every year."

On Feb. 15, 1942, Japanese captured Singapore and occupied it for over three and a half years. That day was also the first day of Spring Festival, the most important day of the year for Chinese. In order to retaliate against those who gave money to support anti- Japanese war in China, the Japanese introduced the system of "Sook Ching", which means "purge through purification" in Chinese to get rid of those deemed to be anti-Japanese days after they landed in Singapore.

"That day was January 9 in lunar New Year, and my father and brother-in-law were sent to check their 'purification'. My mother visited them in the morning but she couldn't find them in the afternoon. We later found that they have been sent to a mountain just opposite our house to work," Lim recalled.

"After the work, they were tied with strings to get down the mountain. But while they were walking, the Japanese just shot them with two machine guns," Lim said.

He was only 7 years old at that time, but it totally changed his life thereafter. His mother was not able to feed him and his seven other siblings, and had to give four of them to other families. Lim was one of the lucky four to stay with his mother.

According to incomplete statistics, at least 50,000 Singaporeans were killed and Lim's father and brother-in-law were among those victims. On Feb. 15, 1967, the memorial monument was built by the Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry ( SCCCI) and memorial service is held each year ever since.

Apart from 200 representatives from government organs, uniformed services, diplomatic corps, business associations, religious organizations, as well as veterans and families of the victims, there are over 1,000 students who voluntarily attend this year's memorial.

"One of the key points of holding this memorial is to let students to participate," said Thomas Chua Kee Seng, president of SCCCI. "We hope the students can keep in mind the importance of safeguarding our own land through this event."

Nobuyoshi Takashima, professor of the University of Ryukyus in Japan also attended the ceremony, saying that they came here to collect materials so as to tell youngsters in Japan about the history.

Sunday is also Singapore's annual Total Defence Day. Before the beginning of the service, the Singapore Civil Defence Force sounded the "All Clear" signal through its public warning system to commemorate the fall of Singapore to the Japanese during World War Two.

The Total Defence Day and the memorial together aim not to resent but to remind the country's younger generation never to forget the tragedy in which a large number of civilians were ruthlessly killed during the dark days of the Japanese occupation and to make young Singaporeans clearly aware of the hardness to earn peace and the importance to establish total defense, said Chua. Endi