Friday 15 February 2013

Anecdotes Involving The Hero

Tragedy was to strike when he was stopped at a checkpoint at Gopeng and arrested. He had earlier ignored warnings and pleas from his comrades about the danger of his mission, which was to revamp the entire intelligence network and solicit funds from his wealthy friends. Brought to Batu Gajah Prison, he was subjected to continuous interrogations and torture by the infamous Kempeitai. Lim Bo Seng was already weak in health, having just gone for a haemorrhoids operation in India before arriving in Malaya. To make matters worse, he suffered from dysentery. Finally, on 29th June 1944, he succumbed under the immense suffering and passed away.

Following the surrender of the Japanese in Malaya in September 1945, the accolades for Lim Bo Seng began to flow in. The Nationalist Government in China accorded to him a posthumous rank of Major-General and a grand funeral procession was held on 13th January 1946. His grave is situated at MacRitchie Reservoir. On the 10th Anniversary of his death, in 1954, a memorial was unveiled at the Esplanade to commemorate him.

Lim Bo Seng attained everlasting fame not only because he gave up everything, including his life, to fight against an enemy he deemed to be tyrannical and cruel but also because of his steadfast refusal under pain and torture to reveal the information which would endanger the lives of his comrades and the cause he was fighting for.
(Source: http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_contributions_did_Lim_Bo_Seng_make_to_Singapore)

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