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wo 235/815: OTODA HIROSHI (音田浩)
ALOR STAR (ALOR SETAR), KEDAH
11 FEBRUARY 1946
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ACCUSED
Sgt. Major Otoda Hiroshi CHARGE(S) Ill-treatment (physical abuse, water treatment) leading to deaths of 4 civilians VICTIM(S) Poh Hoon, Gan Cheng Chuan, Kung Choon Hoe, Ah Hin (suicide) DATE OF CRIME(S) March and April 1943 LOCATION(S) OF CRIME(S) Alor Star, Kedah (now Alor Setar) LOCATION OF TRIAL Alor Star, Kedah (now Alor Setar) TRIAL DATE(S) 11 February 1946 PRESIDENT Lt. Col. F.E. Figgures, Royal Artillery, Barrister-at-law* * Emergency Commission. Temporary Major 04/04/1943, Rank: Lieutenant, 2nd Rank: Captain (War Substantive) MEMBERS Maj. H.E.R. Smith, Royal Artillery* * Potentially H. Smith, Service number: 2586195, saw duty in Central Mediterranean and Italy, wounded on 10 Oct 1944, and attached to 166 Field Regiment. This unit was stationed in Malaya after the war Capt. J.M. Carter, Gurkha Rifles* * Likely J. Carter, Temporary Captain attached to General List regiment and War Office battalion, recipient of Imperial Service Order award Capt. T.B. Thorpe, Royal Sussex* * No direct matches found, 1944 records indicate two 'T. Thorpes' with 2nd Lieutenant ranking, one with Royal Lancashire, the other with Royal Pioneer Corps |
PROSECUTOR
Major J.M. Davies, Royal Artillery* *Note: ICC records - Major W.J. Davies [sic?] / Original TNA records - Major J.M. Davies DEFENDING OFFICER Major R.H. Dill, 17 Mahrattas* *Indian Army WITNESS(ES) FOR DEFENCE Major J.W. Snellig WITNESS(ES) FOR PROSECUTION Soon Hung Teng Khor Lian Boo Ong Boon Kheng Eo Cheng Chooi Goh Sew Gim Kung Choon Chan Peng Hong Tan Toon Sing Leow Poh Ching Oi Leong Chye PLEA Guilty VERDICT Guilty SENTENCE Death by hanging Sentenced carried out 5 March 1946 in Taiping Gaol, Perak |
SUMMARY
Sergeant Major Otoda Hiroshi was attached to the Alor Star military police station (ASMPS) as a Kempei or military police. He was picked out of an identification parade held at the Alor Star civil gaol on 4 Feb 1946 by Khor Lian Boo, Ong Boon Kheng, Chan Peng Hong and Leow Poh Ching. He was identified by the four witnesses separately and independently.
Otoda, unlike the majority of accused, pleaded guilty to the charges. Otoda however justified his actions; he had merely discharged his duties according to “the policy of the kempeitai and living up to its traditions to the best of my ability” and he sincerely believed that his “treatment of [the victims] was for the common good.” Otoda was involved in weeding out anti-Japanese individuals through random mass arrests, followed by torture for the purposes of extracting confessions or information. In his defence, Otoda stated that the four named victims were Communists. (The term 'Communist' was often used as shorthand for/synonymous with individuals involved in anti-Japanese activities. It should be noted that whether or not the four victims were indeed 'Communists' was not confirmed during the trial.
The witnesses for the prosecution were incarcerated at about the same time as the four named victims. According to one witness' testimony, there were three cells in the police station housing approximately 100 detainees in March 1943. Of the 10 witnesses who testified, save for one (Goh Sew Gim), the rest were also subjected to torture by Otoda at ASMPS. However, Otoda was not tried for ill treatment of these prosecution witnesses, only of ill treatment of the 4 prisoners who died, among them Ah Hin, who hung himself from the cell door with a blanket following multiple bouts of torture over an extended period of time.
Among the torture methods detailed during the trial, these included: beatings (with or without implements), suspension from the ceiling (upside down or with wrists tied behind the back), burning (with hot strips of metal or cigarettes) and water torture until the stomach was distended (sometimes followed by a plank being placed on the stomach and stood on until water was forcibly expelled).
Sergeant Major Otoda Hiroshi was attached to the Alor Star military police station (ASMPS) as a Kempei or military police. He was picked out of an identification parade held at the Alor Star civil gaol on 4 Feb 1946 by Khor Lian Boo, Ong Boon Kheng, Chan Peng Hong and Leow Poh Ching. He was identified by the four witnesses separately and independently.
Otoda, unlike the majority of accused, pleaded guilty to the charges. Otoda however justified his actions; he had merely discharged his duties according to “the policy of the kempeitai and living up to its traditions to the best of my ability” and he sincerely believed that his “treatment of [the victims] was for the common good.” Otoda was involved in weeding out anti-Japanese individuals through random mass arrests, followed by torture for the purposes of extracting confessions or information. In his defence, Otoda stated that the four named victims were Communists. (The term 'Communist' was often used as shorthand for/synonymous with individuals involved in anti-Japanese activities. It should be noted that whether or not the four victims were indeed 'Communists' was not confirmed during the trial.
The witnesses for the prosecution were incarcerated at about the same time as the four named victims. According to one witness' testimony, there were three cells in the police station housing approximately 100 detainees in March 1943. Of the 10 witnesses who testified, save for one (Goh Sew Gim), the rest were also subjected to torture by Otoda at ASMPS. However, Otoda was not tried for ill treatment of these prosecution witnesses, only of ill treatment of the 4 prisoners who died, among them Ah Hin, who hung himself from the cell door with a blanket following multiple bouts of torture over an extended period of time.
Among the torture methods detailed during the trial, these included: beatings (with or without implements), suspension from the ceiling (upside down or with wrists tied behind the back), burning (with hot strips of metal or cigarettes) and water torture until the stomach was distended (sometimes followed by a plank being placed on the stomach and stood on until water was forcibly expelled).
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DOCUMENTS AVAILABLE ONLINE FROM INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT (ICC) Notes: ICC digitised records are limited to charge sheet, judgement, trial records (partial), and reference to proceedings (see: links below). TNA UK records are more comprehensive and include e.g. Otoda Hiroshi's original signed statement and signed documents relating to his petition, signed death warrant. Also, ICC records record the prosecution counsel as Maj. W.J. Davies, R.A. The TNA docs list Maj. J.M. Davies in that role. LINKS http://www.legal-tools.org/doc/678f49/pdf/ http://www.legal-tools.org/doc/101869/pdf/ http://www.legal-tools.org/doc/82cbf8/pdf/ http://www.legal-tools.org/doc/7416f8/pdf/ |