Elizabeth Choy

Now I shall introduce you to ELIZABETH CHOY, a heroine Singapore's history.

So what happened during the invasion? How did you feel about it?

well, No one expected the war. The British had made it out that they’re a powerful nation...And despite the fact that we had read in the newspapers that the Japanese had already occupied both Indochina and Thailand, no one for a moment thought that the Japanese would really attack.

So when the bombs did drop on that morning... Everybody said "oh, don’t worry, Singapore is very well protected. It’s impregnable. " And when the bombs dropped, we won’t believe it. And some of them said, "Yes, we saw so many dead people and all that." Still, we couldn’t believe.

How terrible is it! Can you briefly describe what was the consequence of the invasion? What was life like?

Because of war, I lost my job, I need to earn money to support my family, therefore I and my family set up a canteen in the Miyako Hospital. After a while, we started offering supplies such as medicine money and messages under great risks, I just wanted to make the prisoner’s life a bit easier under this extreme condition. During that time, prisoners are not allowed to know anything about the war, because that will destroy their hope, I wanted to help them going through this tough time of pain. I made a big decision to smuggle radio parts to them to let them hear the news.

You were doing this under great risk, weren't you, Elizabeth? Did the Japanese found out this? How come you were arrested later on?

My husband was arrested by the Kempeitai on suspicious he was aiding efforts to sabotage the Japanese military. I worried about him so I went to the YMCA to ask, but the Kempeitai officer denied knowledge of him. After 3 weeks, they told me if I want to see my husband, I need to follow them. However, it was a trap and I got caught in the prison too.

So you were in prison after that, I see. Did you manage to escape? Did you face any torment?

Horrible torment! My life in prison was terrible and the worst place I’d ever been to. The Japanese forced me to tell them about the information that I knew, the names of people that worked with me. I remained silent. This action traded me back several months of torment.

One day they put some bars of wood on the floor and they tied me up, and I had to kneel on this very rough wood. They tied me to the wood so I couldn't move. They applied electric shock to me. And they brought my husband - he was kneeling beside there watching me being tortured. I was screaming for nearly 15 minutes. At that moment, it was like thousands of knives cut through my heart. I felt helpless and poor, but I did not give up my hope.

Hope, that sounds to me like your most important thing during your like in prison.

There's a friend of you that we also invited today, and he is Sir Shenton Thomas. I heard that you supported him with supplies a lot during his time in prison.

Hi, my name is Sir Shenton Thomas, one of the few people that still have contact with Elizabeth. We first met in Changi Jail, where she was captured. We were put in the same cell with 29 other men. We were facing intimidation and severe torture every day.

Those terrible days mean a lot to me and Elizabeth, so we encourage each other and finally survived. We became friends soon after that, me, my wife and Elizabeth. and we will never forget the support she gave us.

Thank you, Sir Shenton Thomas.

People nowadays, in a peaceful time, can not experience that awful feeling. We have nothing but hope. Even though we lost everything, but just remember, we can win back everything with hope. ONLY GOD COULD HELP ME, MY ONLY SOURCE OF STRENGTH WAS GOD.

Last question, how did your feeling change? Did you change mentally?

I pray that there is peace in the world. I pray there is no more war so that all these atrocities will not happen. When I was released after almost 200 days, I gave nothing away and implicated no one. I never wanted to pass through the YMCA building, neither wants pass that building nor go that way. Because of the torment, I refuse to turn on or off the light switch up till now. I feel like the awful memories are like another world, even worse than hell.”