SANDAKAN : One of the survivor who was forced to work for the Japanese during the World War 2, recalled his experience today at the Sandakan War Memorial Park after 68 years. Losoh Sodikormoh (83 ) said he was playing in the morning in one of the kampong in Java.
"It was 1942. I was only 12 years old then. All of a sudden, the Japanese forces caught me and took me away in their truck. After that I was taken to Singapore and later to Sandakan by a ship," he told media while relating his horrific experience.
He was brought to work in the Airstrip that the Japanese were building, near to the Prisoner of War Camp , where now the memorial park is located. There were more than 1000 Prisoner of War (POW) at the camp then.
"I was asked to collect the dead bodies of those prisoners who died of starvation, torture and illness. I have to dig holes to bury them. At other times I was asked to collect vegetables and do other menial work," Losoh told reporters.
He also said the locals who were helping the POW's by giving food, if found guilty, were decapitated. There were two decapitation centres specially for this purpose.
During the Sandakan - Ranau march, about 1000 prisoners were selected to march to Ranau. All of them died, except the six men who escaped, he said.
"The Japanese army were very cruel. I worked here for three years before they surrendered to the British in 1945," Losoh recounted his experience after the memorial ceremony.
The Sandakan Day Memorial Service is an annual event organized by the Sandakan Municipal Council and Sabah Tourism Board to commemorate the fallen heroes during the second World War in Sabah, then known as North Borneo.
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