WARRIORS

 Hello ladies and gents this is the Viking telling you that today we are talking about

Lim Bo Seng

The Resilient War Hero

In the face of extreme hardships during the Japanese Occupation, Lim Bo Seng went against the Japanese as part of Singapore’s famous resistance army, Force 136. Undeterred by the enemy’s strength, he sought to weaken their influence time and again until he was captured in Ipoh in 1944, which led to his death at the young age of 35.

Lim’s tireless resistance work started even before the war. In the 1930s, he donated money to the Chinese Relief Fund and joined the boycott against Japanese goods. His involvement soon intensified after Governor Shenton Thomas requested that he form the Chinese Liaison Committee to assist the British in civil defence.

Resourceful and determined, Lim organised more than 10,000 men to erect defences around Singapore after the fall of Kota Bharu. As the Japanese travelled towards Singapore from Johor, he and his team blew up the causeway, effectively slowing the enemy’s advance.

Advised by the Governor to leave Singapore before its fall, he left his wife and seven children behind for their safety. Even then, this was not the end of his activism. Together with the British resistance group Force 136, he went through intelligence field training in India.

Despite the imminent dangers, Lim later travelled by submarine to Pangkor, Lumut, Tapah and Ipoh in 1943 to establish an intelligence network that was meant to support a planned British invasion. In an unfortunate turn of events, Lim’s whereabouts were betrayed by one of Force 136’s own members, leading to his capture while he was fleeing Ipoh.

After years spent working towards liberating Singapore, Lim Bo Seng died on 29 June 1944, three months following his capture and torture by the Japanese, in Batu Gajah Jail, Perak.

On 13 January 1946, Lim’s remains were buried in MacRitchie Reservoir. Today, the Lim Bo Seng Memorial in Esplanade Park commemorates his efforts and courage in World War II and as always have a chilled day from the Viking