Singapore History 101 - Part 6

The Sook Ching Operation

We were surprised to learn that some of the beaches in Singapore have a dark history. The picture below was taken at Changi Beach on the east coast. The Japanese military executed tens of thousands of Chinese during the occupation, between Feb. 18 and Mar. 4, 1942. This series of mass murders was known as the Sook Ching Operation. The first site of executions was right here on Changi Beach. Many Chinese civilian men and boys were executed because the military believed that they were anti-Japanese.


Here is another killing ground. There is a jetty at the end of Punggol Road. On February 28, 1942, about 300-400 Chinese civilians faced a Japanese firing squad.