A Chinese teenaged girl

This is a photograph of Teo Khoon Wah’s daughter, a Chinese girl living in wartime Singapore. On the reverse side of the photo is a stamp by the Japanese army. This is an inspection stamp which shows that the girl was clear of any anti-Japanese activity. In February 1942, during the 'sook ching', the Japanese army screened thousands of Chinese and executed those suspected of anti-Japanese activities. Stamps such as this one were a crucial item of survival and signified the difference between life and death.

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