The Parit Sulong Massacre

Peter Clare · 05-01-2007, 12:59 AM

THE PARIT SULONG MASSACRE
In January, 1942, a company of Australian, British and Indian soldiers were captured by the Japanese and interned in a large wooden building at Parit Sulong in Malaysia. Late in the afternoon of January 22, 1942, they were ordered to assemble at the rear of a row of damaged shops nearby. The wounded were carried by those able to walk, the pretext being the promise of medical treatment and food. While waiting at the assembly point, either sitting or lying prone, their hands tied with signal wire or rope, three machine guns, concealed in the back rooms of the wrecked shops, started their deadly chatter, their concentrated fire chopping flesh and limbs to pieces. A number of prisoners whose bodies showed signs of life, had to be bayoneted. In order to dispose of the bodies, which totalled 161, the row of shops was blown up and the debris bulldozed into a heap on top of which the corpses were placed. Sixty gallons of gasoline was splashed on the bodies and then a flaming torch was thrown on the pile. Just before midnight, the debris of the nine shops had burned into piles of grey ash two feet high, the 161 bodies totally incinerated. The perpetrator of this foul crime was Lt-Gen. Takuma Nishimura, 62, who gave the following order " Instruct the officer-in-charge to execute all the prisoners by firing squad. Kill them all. The bodies of the prisoners are to be cremated on completion of the execution and all traces of their disposal obliterated"
Nishimura later faced trial before an Australian Military Court and sentenced to life imprisonment. He was previously convicted of massacres in Singapore and sentenced to life imprisonment by a British Military Tribunal on April 2, 1947. After serving four years of his sentence, he was being transferred to Tokyo to serve out the rest of his sentence and while the ship stopped temporarily at Hong Kong he was seized by the Australian Military Police and taken to Manus Island where his second trial was held. In this trial he was found guilty and hanged on June 11, 1951.

Kyt · 05-01-2007, 10:10 PM

Cheers PC. Can I ask where you got the info - it's just that you mention 161 killed, whereas Massacre at Parit Sulong by Gilbert Mant (1995) states that it was 145 (110 Australian and 35 Indian). Still a terrible event, no matter the numbers, but I was wondering whether your source was more up to date than Mant (I ask because I just saw the book for sale and was interested).

Peter Clare · 06-01-2007, 01:05 PM

Hi Kyt.

I'll have to get back to you regarding your question, my PC crashed yesterday, don't know yet if I've lost all my records, it's at the doctors hopefully getting better. At the minute I'm using the wife's laptop so not much input from me for a while.
Hope to be back to normal soon.

Regards

Peter

Raz · 13-12-2007, 12:38 PM

I went to Parit Sulong today, here are three pics.

At the beginning this was the only memorial at this site to commemorate the battle.
Placed on the modern built bridge over the Muar river it's easy to miss.

The PWD barracks, said to be one of the buildings first used to hold some of the
wounded by the Japanese before they were taken out and killed.

The recently erected memorial with a information board telling of the battle of Muar
and the horrific atrocities after the battle.

Unfortunately this memorial site is right on the banks of the Muar river and is prone to flooding.

Owen · 13-12-2007, 12:40 PM

Great one Raz, more battlefield photos, these ones make me feel warmer than DB's Russian ones.
Thanks for posting them.

Peter Clare · 13-12-2007, 04:04 PM

Raz,
Many thanks for posting the pic's

Regards
Peter.

Ivan1 · 21-10-2008, 01:45 AM

Peter's excerpt comes from this website:

http://members.iinet.net.au/~gduncan/massacres.html

Herakles · 21-10-2008, 03:55 AM

What a terrible story. If it was an isolated event it would still be terrible. The trouble is that it's not.

Ivan1 · 21-10-2008, 04:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Herakles

What a terrible story. If it was an isolated event it would still be terrible. The trouble is that it's not.

You should take a look on that website I posted in the above post. It's one big terrible story. It's so sad, what human beings are capable of.

05-01-2007, 12:59 AM	#1 (permalink)
Peter Clare Legendary Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Neverland Posts: 5,648	The Parit Sulong Massacre THE PARIT SULONG MASSACRE In January, 1942, a company of Australian, British and Indian soldiers were captured by the Japanese and interned in a large wooden building at Parit Sulong in Malaysia. Late in the afternoon of January 22, 1942, they were ordered to assemble at the rear of a row of damaged shops nearby. The wounded were carried by those able to walk, the pretext being the promise of medical treatment and food. While waiting at the assembly point, either sitting or lying prone, their hands tied with signal wire or rope, three machine guns, concealed in the back rooms of the wrecked shops, started their deadly chatter, their concentrated fire chopping flesh and limbs to pieces. A number of prisoners whose bodies showed signs of life, had to be bayoneted. In order to dispose of the bodies, which totalled 161, the row of shops was blown up and the debris bulldozed into a heap on top of which the corpses were placed. Sixty gallons of gasoline was splashed on the bodies and then a flaming torch was thrown on the pile. Just before midnight, the debris of the nine shops had burned into piles of grey ash two feet high, the 161 bodies totally incinerated. The perpetrator of this foul crime was Lt-Gen. Takuma Nishimura, 62, who gave the following order " Instruct the officer-in-charge to execute all the prisoners by firing squad. Kill them all. The bodies of the prisoners are to be cremated on completion of the execution and all traces of their disposal obliterated" Nishimura later faced trial before an Australian Military Court and sentenced to life imprisonment. He was previously convicted of massacres in Singapore and sentenced to life imprisonment by a British Military Tribunal on April 2, 1947. After serving four years of his sentence, he was being transferred to Tokyo to serve out the rest of his sentence and while the ship stopped temporarily at Hong Kong he was seized by the Australian Military Police and taken to Manus Island where his second trial was held. In this trial he was found guilty and hanged on June 11, 1951.

05-01-2007, 10:10 PM	#2 (permalink)
Kyt Very Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2005 Posts: 2,968	Cheers PC. Can I ask where you got the info - it's just that you mention 161 killed, whereas Massacre at Parit Sulong by Gilbert Mant (1995) states that it was 145 (110 Australian and 35 Indian). Still a terrible event, no matter the numbers, but I was wondering whether your source was more up to date than Mant (I ask because I just saw the book for sale and was interested). __________________ _______________________________________ Squadron Leader Pujji - Audio Interviews (half way down the page)

13-12-2007, 04:04 PM	#6 (permalink)
Peter Clare Legendary Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Neverland Posts: 5,648	Raz, Many thanks for posting the pic's Regards Peter. __________________ On weald of Kent I watched once more Again I heard that grumbling roar Of fighter planes; yet none were near And all around the sky was clear Borne on the wind a whisper came 'Though men grow old, they stay the same' And then I knew, unseen to eye The ageless Few were sweeping by

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06-01-2007, 01:05 PM	#3 (permalink)
Peter Clare Legendary Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Neverland Posts: 5,648	Hi Kyt. I'll have to get back to you regarding your question, my PC crashed yesterday, don't know yet if I've lost all my records, it's at the doctors hopefully getting better. At the minute I'm using the wife's laptop so not much input from me for a while. Hope to be back to normal soon. Regards Peter

13-12-2007, 12:38 PM	#4 (permalink)
Raz Junior Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Posts: 10	I went to Parit Sulong today, here are three pics. At the beginning this was the only memorial at this site to commemorate the battle. Placed on the modern built bridge over the Muar river it's easy to miss. The PWD barracks, said to be one of the buildings first used to hold some of the wounded by the Japanese before they were taken out and killed. The recently erected memorial with a information board telling of the battle of Muar and the horrific atrocities after the battle. Unfortunately this memorial site is right on the banks of the Muar river and is prone to flooding.

13-12-2007, 12:40 PM	#5 (permalink)
Owen Top Moose Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Under the stairs Posts: 9,462	Great one Raz, more battlefield photos, these ones make me feel warmer than DB's Russian ones. Thanks for posting them.

21-10-2008, 01:45 AM	#7 (permalink)
Ivan1 "Need some backup!!!" Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: water-filled dugout, shells flying over my head Posts: 149	Peter's excerpt comes from this website: http://members.iinet.net.au/~gduncan/massacres.html

21-10-2008, 03:55 AM	#8 (permalink)
Herakles Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Thailand Posts: 130	What a terrible story. If it was an isolated event it would still be terrible. The trouble is that it's not.

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