Kenpeitai West District Branch

The Kenpeitai West District Branch was one of the branches of the Kenpeitai in Singapore besides the much noted Kenpeitai East District Branch during the Japanese occupation of Singapore from 1942 to 1945.

Kenpeitai West District Branch
Kenpeitai West District Branch is located in Singapore
Kenpeitai West District Branch
Former location in Singapore
General information
StatusDemolished
LocationSingapore
AddressSmith Street
CountrySingapore
Coordinates01°16′58.8″N 103°50′33.0″E
Named forKenpeitai
Completed1938
Demolished1975
OwnerSingapore Improvement Trust
LandlordSingapore Improvement Trust
AffiliationKenpeitai
Technical details
Floor count3
Known forKenpeitai West District Branch in Chinatown, Singapore

History

The Singapore Improvement Trust (SIT) was a government organisation set up in 1927 by the British colonial government in the Straits Settlements with the recruitment of Captain Edwin Percy Richards as its deputy chairman in response to the housing needs of the population of Singapore. At the time, many people resided in overcrowded shophouses and squatter settlements, resulting in widespread disease and lack of hygiene and sanitation. The SIT organisation had brought in professional architects and general contractors to resolve this large social problem, with the ultimate goal of building affordable public housing for the common population of Singapore.

Japanese Occupation of Singapore

Following the Japanese Occupation of Singapore in 1942, work at SIT came to a standstill with all its senior officers as prisoners-of-war, with a large number of the subordinate staff, however, worked for the Japanese administration.[1] The Kenpeitai came under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of War in Tokyo. There were about 200 regular Kenpeitai in Singapore but 1,000 auxiliaries were recruited from the army.

The Kenpeitai took over a three-storey SIT residential flat which was located at the intersection of Smith Street and New Bridge Road to operate as one of their branches known as the Kenpeitai West District Branch. An Old YMCA Building at Stamford Road formed the Kenpeitai East District Branch and also the Kenpeitai headquarters. The Kenpeitai jail was situated at the Outram Prison and another branch at the Central Police Station. The Kenpeitai would operated in these buildings in Singapore until 1945.[2]

Demolition

The SIT flat buildings (known as New Bridge Estate) along the Smith Street, including the one which once housed Kenpeitai West District Branch, were demolished in 1975,[3] A commercial building New Bridge Centre was completed on its former site in 1980.

References

  1. Singapore, National Library Board. "The work of the Singapore Improvement Trust (1927-1947) / compiled by J.M. Fraser". eservice.nlb.gov.sg. Retrieved 2018-06-13.
  2. Singapore, National Library Board. "Kempeitai | Infopedia". eresources.nlb.gov.sg. Retrieved 2018-06-13.
  3. Gretchen, Liu (1999). Singapore: A Pictorial History, 1819-2000. Singapore: Didier Millet. p. 211. ISBN 9789813018815.
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