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Sungai Lui Massacre - Jempol District, Negeri Sembilan State, Malaysia (31 July 1942)
The third largest massacre took place in Sungai Lui, Jempol District (North of Bahau) where 368 Chinese were massacred in the way never seen before like throwing live and dead people into the well, beheading, machine gunned or throwing live baby into air and bayonet as they fall.
Sungai Lui is situated 23 miles North of Bahau town, besides the railway track. The shops were mainly built from plank with coconut-leaf roofing. There were sundries shop, barber shop and local product trading post. Resident totaled 400 over Chinese mainly small farmers.
After the massacre, the whole settlement was burnt down to ruin. Another example befitting Japanese army's slogan of "Kill all, Rob all, and Burn all".
About 10 am in the morning of 31 July 1942, a train carrying the Imperial Japanese Army arrived from Kuala Pilah ( the railway track to Kuala Pilah had been removed after the war). They immediately surround the small settlement. Japanese soldiers armed with rifles ordered all residents to leave their house and stood in the street. They then tight up the men in group of 5 or 6 persons. They were escorted to near-by location and bayonet to death. The women and children were ordered back to their house. In the house, the Japanese soldiers first ordered the women to sit on long wooden chair then shoot with machine gun or bayonet some to death, after that the house door locked and the house burnt down so that there is no survivor. At least one woman's beheaded body was seen by survivor. Those who survived the massacre are those who ran away when Japanese arrived by train and others who managed to escape through the back door. Not all ran away were lucky, some were shot at by machine gun. A man was beheaded by the river side after failed attempt. Two survivors witnessed the killing of babies by throwing them into the air and bayonet as they fall. The bayonet penetrate the baby's body, the soldier then kick at them to pull out the long bayonet.
During the period when massacre took place, over hundred of Japanese soldiers were stationed in Bahau town. The locals remembered that army committed the massacre was lead by Corporal Hashimoto (Gocho Hashimoto - in Japanese). Sungai Lui is about 40 miles from Parit Tinggi
Sungai Lui War Memorial
This is the original burial ground for the 368 victims. It is located less than one kilometer from the railway track where massacre took place. The rail road was dismantled many years ago.
Sungei Lui village chief Mr Lim Kim Huat (林金發先生PJK) helped to rebuild the memorial in 1995. He was resident of Sungei Lui during the massacre but were lucky to be away on that fateful day. (Nov 2012 update)