The Japanese Imperial Army, tired of a difficult campaign, angered by the monetary support rendered by the Overseas Chinese, directed their wrath on the Chinese residents of Singapore. Within the first days of assuming control, the Japanese Military Administration planned a purging. Armed with a list of names compiled by Japanese espionage agents from pre-war days, the Japanese Military Administration sought to "weed" out all anti-Japanese elements. What followed was carnage. The "purge through cleansing" campaign, also known as Sook Ching, cost thousands of innocents their lives. Sook Ching was an act devised by the new masters of Syonan-to to send a strong message to the overseas Chinese to be loyal or..... be massacred. ^^^
