Tucked away in the Singapore General Hospital (SGH) is a mass grave containing more than 400, mostly unidentified, bodies.

It is located at SGH's Carpark C.

Save for a wooden memorial cross and a marble plaque, there is nothing else to indicate the presence of something so macabre lying just below the surface.

Who did these bodies belong to? How did they end up here?

The answer lies in a commemorative plaque, which reads:

February 1942 was the start of the Japanese Occupation, that three-year long "inhumanity to Man" described above.

But when did these victims die and under what circumstances did they end up in a mass grave?

According to an account, the grave might have been an emergency water tank that was dug before the Japanese Occupation. Throughout the Occupation, the bodies of civilians and soldiers who perished were placed inside.

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Slain medical students

One particular tragic story involves a group of medical students who were mercilessly gunned down on February 14, 1942.

Yoong Tat Sin was a fourth-year medical student was on duty at Tan Tock Seng Hospital when Japanese shelling hit the hospital, causing Yoong to sustain serious injuries.

He was rushed to SGH for an emergency operation but passed away later that day.

That night, about 25 students from the medical and dental faculties of the College of Medicine arranged a burial for Yoong.

As the grave was being prepared, the group was spotted by Japanese gunners who proceeded to rain artillery down on the students.

Some jumped into trenches, some into Yoong's grave. Others managed to flee. 10 more students were killed that night.

A memorial plaque commemorating the names of the slain students now hangs in the College of Medicine Building.

The next time you're passing by the grounds of SGH, take a moment to think about these lives that were lost meaninglessly, and how much we can cherish what we have today.

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Top image by Joshua Lee.

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