I was working mainly in Sentosa, with the PoWs, Australians and British. They were also working as mechanics. They were kept in Sentosa and they would come every morning to the workshop. The PoWs were very cheerful. They got better treatment because they were repairing the vehicles -- mostly military vehicles. The prisoners stayed in barracks. Their clothes were tattered and torn, but they were given a lot of rice which they didn't like very much. So they used to bring the rice for us. They cooked the rice while we used to take from Singapore a type of hard bun. Not wheat flour, but some other flour, maize or what. We took this and we would exchange food during lunch. Prisoners were tortured by the Japanese And the Japanese knew what was going on. One Japanese guy would bring a pail of curry, pork curry mainly, from the cook house. It was supposed to be for him as he could not bring curry for the prisoners. He brought it on the pretext that it was for the Japanese soldiers, but they would leave it for the prisoners to eat. But anybody who made a mistake got hammered, whether it was a Japanese or Singaporean or British. You made a silly mistake, you got a beating. The Japanese soldiers also got the same treatment. The officers would beat them. They would stand at attention while being slapped, until they fell down. The PoWs were very cheerful, whistling and singing. Maybe that was how they kept their morale up. They had their tea break, the Japanese called it o-cha. Sat down and puffed. They rolled their own cigarettes. We were together for nearly two, three years. Officially, we were not allowed to talk to them. That was the rule. Only about work. But during lunch time, they would tell us about their living conditions in Sentosa, about what they had for dinner. But one thing I remember: They never, ever talked about their families. They only talked about their work and whether anyone was sick. They asked us if we could get medicine from them. They had to march to salute the Japanese sentry. And if they didn't it, they would be slapped. Sometimes, the British and the Australians had a lot of differences. They blamed each other: The Australians thought the British let them down and the British thought the Australians let them down. They talked but they had reservations. First chapter Next chapter: Bombed Copyright © 1998 Singapore Press Holdings. All Rights Reserved.