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wo 235/884: HARADA KENSEI (原田賢正)
SINGAPORE
8-11 JULY 1946
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ACCUSED
1) Captain Harada Kensei (原田賢正) CHARGE(S)
L.W. Menjaji (sic) Lothar Wong Manjaji @ Wong Kah Kee @ Huang Jiaqi V.J. Lim @ Vitalianus J. Lim @ Ubing Chong Pin Sin @ Paul Chong Pin Sin Simon Thien Paul Lee On @ Paul Lee Fook Onn @ Lee Ah Ann Bung Ah Tee @ Stephen Pan Tet Liong Lim Hock Bing @ Lim Hock Beng Mohinder @ Mohindar Singh a/l (son of) Hernan (Harnam) Singh Kalsi DATE(S) OF CRIME(S) June – July 1945 LOCATION(S) OF CRIME(S) Penampang, Telipong (current Telipok), Menggatal, in Sabah (Borneo) LOCATION OF TRIAL Singapore TRIAL DATE(S) 8, 9, 11 July 1946 PRESIDENT Lt. Col. R.L. Le Gallais, Barrister-at-Law, DJAG India* * Royal Northumberland Fusilliers |
MEMBERS
Maj. N.S. Bains, 1st Punjabs, LLB Advocate, India Capt. Teufiq Hasan, Indian Intelligence Corps PROSECUTOR Major S.J. Smith, DJAG ALFSEA DEFENCE Mr Konno (Kono) Sanai, Judge, Sendai District Court, Japan Assisted by Lt. S.M. Richardson, 12th Parachute Brigade WITNESS(ES) FOR PROSECUTION 2nd Lieut. Shimizu Kiyoji / Kiyogi [sic?] (Api/Jesselton Kempeitai, IJA 37 Army) N.C.O. Sgt. Inaba Keishi (Api/Jesselton Kempeitai, IJA 37 Army) Maj. M.G. Dickson (No. 8 War Crimes Investigation Team) John G. Bridger (Interpreter, No. 8 War Crimes Investigation Team) Sgt. Mukai Heihachi W.O. Yoshino Iku Sgt. Uchiyama Chokichi SWORN AFFIDAVITS IN EVIDENCE Joseph Menjaji (son of L.W. Menjaji) dated 5 April 1946 Jemadar Charon Singh @ Jemedar Chanan Singh (uncle of Mohinder Singh) dated 7 March 1946 WITNESS(ES) FOR DEFENCE Capt. Harada Kensei Col. Machiguchi Taku (Commander Borneo Kempeitai) PLEA Not guilty VERDICT Guilty SENTENCE Death by hanging Sentence carried out at 9am, 11 September 1946, Changi Prison, Singapore. |
Lieut. General Masao Baba ©AWM (OG3495)
Courtesy of Josephine Manjaji. (There is no surviving photo of Mohinder Singh.)
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Capt. Harada Kensei, was originally a farmer from Kumamoto Prefecture. He was sent sent directly from Kempei school in Tokyo to take up duties in Borneo. From 14 November 1944 until the Japanese surrender, he was in charge of the Jesselton or Api kempeitai office.
On 18 May 1945, he attended a meeting chaired by Lieut. General Masao Baba (馬場正郎), commander of the 37th Army in Borneo. Following a series of realised and attempted Allied amphibious assaults on Borneo island, beginning in May 1945, the discussion included preparations for “emergency measures” to counter imminent Allied attacks in North Borneo. [For further background on Allied actions, refer to Operations OBOE.] On 24 May 1945, “stage three of battle plans” (alternately translated as “third war plan” and “no. 3 form of operations” by other defendants and witnesses) were put into effect. On 26 May 1945, Harada received written orders from the Commander of the Borneo Kempeitai, Col. Machiguchi Taku, to take action. This involved ‘senjo’ (eradication/clearing out/rooting out) of “detrimental elements” – individuals perceived as alleged, suspected or potential threats who could incite the local population against the Japanese. A list of names was attached to the order, which was referred to as “no. Ho” or “no.C” operation list. This was essentially a blacklist of alleged and potential agitators that had been compiled by a predecessor of Harada’s. Harada then issued written orders to his subordinate Lieut. Shimizu Kiyoji, based with the Penampang kempeitai, and followed up with a phone call to provide verbal instruction. Shimizu in turn instructed N.C.O. Sgt. Inaba Keishi to engage the army unit Nishijima Tai due to kempeitai staff shortages. L.W. Menjaji and V.J. Lim, who were detained at the Penampang kempeitai, were handed over to 2nd Lieut. Keisatsu of the Nishijima Unit to carry out the executions. How they met their end was not described in detail in the transcripts. |
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Left: Exhumation of grave containing remains of Simon Thien, Paul Chong Pin Sin and Stephen Pan Tet Liong. Courtesy Archdiocese of Kota Kinabalu.
Right: Excerpt from sworn affidavit of Mohinder's uncle. Far right: Return of Death Warrant.
Right: Excerpt from sworn affidavit of Mohinder's uncle. Far right: Return of Death Warrant.
In Telipong, Sgt. Mukai Heihachi received Harada’s written order to arrest Lee On, Chong Pin Sin, Bung Ah Tee and Simon Thien. They were arrested on 12 June 1945 and Sgt. Mukai executed the latter three men himself by shooting them. Mukai then called upon W.O. Yoshino Iku, based at Tamparuli kempeitai, to come to Telipong to carry out the beheading of Lee On on 16 June 1945, stating that he was not well enough to do the job himself. As to why he did not execute all four men at the same time by shooting is unclear. Or whether his execution of the three men had caused a stir was also not examined. It should be noted, however, that in a separate case against W.O. Yoshino Iku (WO 235/928), Yoshino testified that Mukai had asked him to use his sword instead of a rifle as "circumstances at that time were so bad that if we had made any sound with a rifle it may have caused an uprising. So he asked me to use a sword and to do it quietly."
In Menggatal, Sgt. Major Uchiyama Chokichi received Harada’s written order in July 1945. He brought Lim Hock Beng and Mohinder Singh to a rubber plantation near Menggatal owned by a local man named Chun Nyuk, where he shot them, three rounds each, at a trench. After the Japanese surrender, in mid-December 1945, following a tip-off from a local named Chee Yuk Fui to the existence of three graves at the plantation, Mohinder’s father, Hernan Singh, and his brother, Jemedar Chanan Singh, were contacted by Australian N.C.O. Sgt. N.F. Neville (Noel Francis Neville, Service no. NX191131) and accompanied to the site. There, they confirmed the remains of Mohinder, and also Lim Hock Beng underneath Mohinder’s body and informed Lim’s widow. Mohinder’s body was removed for cremation and reburial at the Hindu-Sikh cemetery.
Capt. Harada Kensei did not deny issuing the above orders, though he pleaded ‘not guilty’ on account of his merely obeying superior orders. Much of the prosecution’s case depended on establishing that there was no definitive evidence nor trial conducted to confirm whether the named victims were guilty of engaging in anti-Japanese activities. [It should be noted that this case is not singular, in that there are other numerous cases that point to a concerted effort to pre-empt potential resistance or solidify control by eliminating suspects, alleged agitators and prisoners in the closing months of the war when it became apparent that the Allies were closing in.]
Notes: What Makes this Case Unusual
In Harada’s defence, his counsel Kono characterised him as a “farmer by calling” who was “summoned by the government” and that he was, in essence, a “junior officer in the infantry regiment” and that his “present state of life as a soldier is not of his own will.” This is dissimilar to many other cases where the defence of superior orders was invoked. In those, the accused were often portrayed as obedient or proud soldiers merely adhering to Japanese military custom in conducting themselves. Secondly, it is also unusual that in this case, written orders were both given and received, as in other cases I have come across, most involved only verbal orders.
In Menggatal, Sgt. Major Uchiyama Chokichi received Harada’s written order in July 1945. He brought Lim Hock Beng and Mohinder Singh to a rubber plantation near Menggatal owned by a local man named Chun Nyuk, where he shot them, three rounds each, at a trench. After the Japanese surrender, in mid-December 1945, following a tip-off from a local named Chee Yuk Fui to the existence of three graves at the plantation, Mohinder’s father, Hernan Singh, and his brother, Jemedar Chanan Singh, were contacted by Australian N.C.O. Sgt. N.F. Neville (Noel Francis Neville, Service no. NX191131) and accompanied to the site. There, they confirmed the remains of Mohinder, and also Lim Hock Beng underneath Mohinder’s body and informed Lim’s widow. Mohinder’s body was removed for cremation and reburial at the Hindu-Sikh cemetery.
Capt. Harada Kensei did not deny issuing the above orders, though he pleaded ‘not guilty’ on account of his merely obeying superior orders. Much of the prosecution’s case depended on establishing that there was no definitive evidence nor trial conducted to confirm whether the named victims were guilty of engaging in anti-Japanese activities. [It should be noted that this case is not singular, in that there are other numerous cases that point to a concerted effort to pre-empt potential resistance or solidify control by eliminating suspects, alleged agitators and prisoners in the closing months of the war when it became apparent that the Allies were closing in.]
Notes: What Makes this Case Unusual
In Harada’s defence, his counsel Kono characterised him as a “farmer by calling” who was “summoned by the government” and that he was, in essence, a “junior officer in the infantry regiment” and that his “present state of life as a soldier is not of his own will.” This is dissimilar to many other cases where the defence of superior orders was invoked. In those, the accused were often portrayed as obedient or proud soldiers merely adhering to Japanese military custom in conducting themselves. Secondly, it is also unusual that in this case, written orders were both given and received, as in other cases I have come across, most involved only verbal orders.
ADDITIONAL NOTES/RELATED CASES:
DOCUMENTS AVAILABLE ONLINE FROM INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT (ICC)
https://www.legal-tools.org/doc/d33930/
Note: Only Charge Sheet and Abstract of Evidence available
LINKS TO RELATED ARTICLES
- 2nd Lieut. Shimizu Kiyoji (Kiyogi) was charged separately with seven others for the ill-treatment and death of approximately 60 civilians on Mentanani Island (Suluks), as well as Chung Kai Ming, Chong Kiew Yen, Lian Sem and VJ Lim. (Case reference WO235/882).
- Warrant Officer Yoshino Iku was charged separately for carrying out the order to execute Paul Lee On (Case reference WO235/928).
DOCUMENTS AVAILABLE ONLINE FROM INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT (ICC)
https://www.legal-tools.org/doc/d33930/
Note: Only Charge Sheet and Abstract of Evidence available
LINKS TO RELATED ARTICLES
- Lothar Wong Manjaji
- Article of the commemoration of the eight victims named in this case at Petagas War Memorial and Lothar Wong Manjaji and Vitalianus J. Lim’s personal stories. Written by Vera Chin, granddaughter of Lothar Manjaji, and Susanna Lye, granddaughter of Paul Lee On. From Archdiocese of Kota Kinabalu website: https://www.catholicadkk.org/2018/03/22/remembering-the-eight-brave-war-heroes-from-wwii/
- Article on the personal stories of Paul Lee Fook Onn @ Paul Lee Onn, Simon Thien, Paul Chong Pin Sin, Stephen Pan Tet Liong, Lim Hock Beng and Mohinder Singh. Written by Vera Chin, granddaughter of Lothar Manjaji, and Susanna Lye, granddaughter of Paul Lee On. From Archdiocese of Kota Kinabalu website: https://www.catholicadkk.org/2018/04/14/remembering-eight-brave-war-heroes-from-wwii-part-2/