1. Born during the Japanese Occupation

I was born during the Japanese occupation of Singapore. We lived at 4C Loke Yew Street, which was in the heart of the city at that time. There was a Japanese outpost at Number 4 Loke Yew Street, which was right at the ground floor of our home.

My sister and I were not allowed to go out of our house alone. When we went out with our parents, which was hardly, we had to bow to the Japanese and greet them as we passed them on our way out, after which, our parents would always tell us to walk away quickly from the ground floor.

During that time, food was scarce and there was food rationing. We only had two meals a day and ate a bowl of rice or porridge each meal. My parents would hang a piece of salted fish from the lamp above the dining table. We would smell the fish and eat our rice or porridge plain.

When I was in primary school, my teachers told us the horrifying stories of the Japanese soldiers entering Alexandra Hospital, bayonetting pregnant women, skewering babies and lifting them into the air. Through all these experiences, I came to hate the Japanese.

When the Japanese surrendered in 1945, my father was excited to witness the surrender of the Japanese soldiers to the Allied Forces at the City Hall. But we arrived late, and we only caught a glimpse of the vehicles driving off.