13. During the Selarang Barracks Incident, more than 15,000 Allied POWs were denied basic sanitation, food, or water, in an attempt to deter them from seeking to escape from their captivity
After the British surrender of Singapore on February 15, 1942, captured Allied POWs were interned in the crowded Changi Prison and surrounding Selarang Barracks facility. After the unsuccessful escape of four Australians, all Allied POWs were ordered to sign a “No Escape Pledge” promising “on my honor that I will not, under any circumstances, attempt to escape”. All but three refused to sign the covenant, believing it was their duty to attempt escape and that under the Geneva Convention it was a protected right. Enraged, General Fukuye commanded all but the three who had conceded to be convened at the parade ground of Selarang Barracks.
Built to house 800 men, almost 17,000 POWs were packed into an area measuring 128 by 210 meters. For two days, these soldiers were denied access to toilets and permitted only a single quart of water per day. On the third day, with no sign of breaking his prisoners, Fukuye ordered the executions of the recaptured four escapees. Failing still to break the POWs, the lack of sanitation eventually took its toll, with fatal cases of dysentery spreading. On September 5, General Holmes ordered his fellow prisoners to sign “under duress” to spare any further loss of life. Although complying, most did so under false names, with hundreds using “Ned Kelly“: an Australian folk hero.