LIM BO SENG'S CONTRIBUTIONS

He took part in fund-raising on Japanese resistant forces and boycott activities of Japanese goods organized by the Nanyang Federation 

He battled through all sorts of physical and mental torture and duress daily but he never uttered a single word about pain and refused to give up information about Force 136.

After the death of Lim Bo Seng (whom had protested against the ill treatment of his comrades in prison) , many of the Japanese authorities softened their stances a little. The prisoners, for a period of time, were given better food. Simple medical treatment and daily exercises in the prison compound were provided for the prisoners

Lim Bo Seng's roles during the war

In the 1930s, Lim Bo Seng participated in anti-Japanese activities in Singapore, particularly in supporting the China Relief Fund. He also formed the Chinese Liaison Committee to assist in civil defence. With the fall of Kota Bahru in Malaya in 1942, he and Tan Kah Kee organised more than 10,000 men for the British government to man essential services and to construct defences around the island. As Japanese troops descended upon Singapore, his men helped dynamite the Causeway.

Before Singapore fell to the Japanese, he escaped to India where Lim Bo Seng was joined by the British resistance group, Force 136, and was trained by the British for intelligence work. In 1943, he went to China to recruit men for Force 136. With a group of fellow Force 136 members, he landed in Japanese-occupied Malaya by submarine later that year and set up an intelligence network in the urban areas in Pangkor, Lumut, Tapah and Ipoh.

Anecdotes involving Lim Bo Seng

Lim Bo Seng was captured by the Japanese at a roadblock in Gopeng around March-April 1944. He was taken to the Kempeitai headquarters for interrogation but still refused to provide the Japanese any information about Force 136 despite being subjected to severe torture. Instead, he protested against the ill treatment of his comrades in prison. He fell ill with dysentery and was bedridden by the end of May 1944. He died in the early hours on 29 June 1944.

Lim Bo Seng secured everlasting fame not only because of the fact that he gave up everything, including his life, to fight against an enemy he deemed to be domineering and ruthless but also because of his steadfast refusal under pain and torture to reveal the information that will threaten the lives of his comrades and the cause that he has been fighting for.

Lim Bo Seng's Background

Born in Nan'an, Fujian, China on 27 April 1909, Lim Bo Seng was the 11th child but the first son in the family. In 1925, he came to Singapore at the age of 16 to study in Raffles Institution under the British colonial government. He went on to read business at the University of Hong Kong. In 1930, he married Gan Choo Neo, a Nyonya woman from the Lim clan association hall of Singapore. Initially a Taoist, he converted to Christianity after his marriage. He then inherited his father's business when the latter died in 1929. He started with running two businesses in brick manufacturing and biscuit production before venturing into building construction with his brothers. Apart from being successful in his business career, Lim Bo Seng was also a prominent figure in the Chinese community in Singapore, having been nominated to take on several posts in the community.