Can you read my thoughts?
No bitterness runs through the mind of Wee Swee Cheng (above, second from left). Japanese soldiers separated him from his family. The war stole from him a precious scholarship to study abroad. But the former insurance boss, now 77, says he gained something. YONG SHU HOONG presents his thoughts in the format of a wartime diary
Feb 15, 1942: First glimpse
TODAY, I joined the crowd along MacPherson Road to watch the first Japanese soldiers march in after the fall of Singapore.
The soldiers rode past on their bicycles.
Their rifles looked like air guns, but I know from the blood on the streets they were deadly.
They set up many sentry posts all around the island.
Once, I saw Japanese soldiers beating up a Singaporean because he did not bow to them at the sentry post.
I didn't really know how to bow properly, so I just followed what the other people were doing.
March 1942: Under one roof
What's this? A notice stuck to our gate by the Japanese.
I almost tore it off. My uncle said we would have been killed for doing that.
A few days later, a group of 14 Japanese soldiers came to occupy part of our house.
One of the soldiers spoke some Hokkien. They wanted 14 foldable canvas beds and 14 towels.
When we couldn't produce the items, they lectured us on how the Japanese were liberating us from our colonial rulers.
They threatened to chop off our heads if we didn't give them respect.
Japanese soldiers during WWIIMarch 1942: Lost scholarship
Oh, where are they?
My parents are in Trengganu. I don't know how to reach them. No mail, no phones, no way of travelling.
I'm in my grandmother's double-storey house in Aljunied.
All the women in the family left to stay with another relative.
I've had to quit my studies and work for the Japanese instead.
As a storekeeper, I issue tools to construction workers building roads in Punggol.
Just a few months ago, I had the whole world in my hands.
I was going to England to study printing. And I was going on a British government scholarship. Now ...
November 1943: Our wedding
Leng Neo and I are wed.
She is my friend's sister.
Not many war-time romances. People are scared about the future.
The wedding was at my grandmother's house. Only 20 or 30 relatives were invited. It felt more like a birthday party.
Damn the war!
1945: Dear son
I'm writing this to my unborn children:
War is hell but I've learnt a lot.
Don't ever take education and peace for granted.
We never know what will happen tomorrow.
If only we had been prepared for disaster.
But we had no Singaporean soldiers.
The British had bigger worries - the Germans. So I don't blame them for letting Singapore fall.
Mr Wee (right): Now 77, he was 18 when Japan invaded Singapore. The picture right at the top shows him with his children after the war. He joined Prudential and later became a group manager. Two of his sons, Mr Wee Tiong Howe and Mr Wee Tiong Han, are currently senior agency managers with Prudential.
Prudential Time Line
The first bombs dropped on Singapore at 4 am on Dec 8, 1941. Many lives were shattered. Even those who had insurance policies were hit because they could no longer keep up their premium payments. After the Japanese Occupation, however, Prudential adopted a policy of generous treatment to policy-holders who could not make premium payments during the war. Their policies were held to be still in full force.
-- The New Paper, July 7, 1998
Copyright © 1998 Singapore Press Holdings. All Rights Reserved.
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