Thursday, January 22, 2009

Punggol Beach

I live 4 bus stops away from Punggol beach. If you do a google search on Punggol beach, you will be shocked and terrified at some of the results. Apparently, it was the one of the killing sites (along with Changi beach and *gasp* Sentosa) during the Japanese occupation. Here is a description from one of the sites that i visited:

"An unusual discovery at Punggol beach dug up a slice of history that many Singaporeans are not aware of. Punggol beach used to be one of the Japanese killing fields. So were the beaches at Sentosa and Changi.

Reported by
WILEEN CHANG

A MAN digging for earthworms to use as fishing bait, at the stretch of beach along Punggol jetty, found parts of a human skeleton instead. There was a skull with two gold teeth, parts of an arm and leg. Although it hardly seems like it, this quiet stretch of beach at the end of Punggol Road, near Punggol jetty was a Japanese killing field during the Second World War.The skeletons are believed to be the remains of about 300 to 400 Chinese civilians who were gunned down there on Feb 28, 1942 by the bojo kempei (Japanese auxiliary military police) firing squads"

text in red taken from: Singapore's Slaughter beach

After reading up on the history of the spot, i decided to visit the beach. I saw some offerings by the shore and a long line of red candles on the grassy area. I also saw a group of people fishing. hmm :)

fishing group

driftwoodhappy crab saying hello!

3 comments:

  1. Woow! I have never been to Punggol Beach since my 2 yrs of stay here in Singapore.Interestingly, though a bit scary, I would like to visit it one of these days. gooosssseebumpss!

    ReplyDelete
  2. tragic history behind an innocent-looking beach. but the little crab sure washed away the creep factor of the place! :P

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