Lim Bo Seng (1909-1944) was a Chinese resistance fighter during World War II (1939-1945). Lim spent much of the war struggling against the Japanese occupation of Singapore and Malaya (now part of Malaysia ). Lim was part of a British Special Operations Executive (SOE) group known as Force 136. The SOE specialized in espionage (spying), reconnaissance (information gathering), and sabotage (damaging an enemy’s war effort) in enemy-occupied territories. Force 136 worked exclusively in Southeast Asia . Lim was eventually captured by the Japanese and died in prison in 1944.
Lim was born in Fujian, in southern China, on April 27, 1909. He arrived in Singapore at the age of 16. Lim studied at the Raffles Institution in Singapore and Hong Kong University. In the 1930’s, Lim helped prepare Singapore’s defenses against a possible Japanese attack. He formed a Chinese Liaison Committee, which organized workers to help with civil defense. Japanese troops invaded Malaya in December 1941 and advanced toward Singapore. On Jan. 31, 1942, Lim’s workers helped partially destroy the causeway (raised roadway) linking Malaya to Singapore, delaying the Japanese advance. Lim fled Singapore just days before it fell to the Japanese on February 15 (see Singapore, Battle of ).
In June 1942, Lim began training with Force 136 in India . In April 1943, he traveled to Chongqing , China, where he recruited volunteers for resistance work in Malaya. In November, Lim arrived in Perak , Malaya, where he joined the local resistance forces. The Japanese Kempeitai (military police) captured Lim on March 27, 1944. He was tortured and died on June 29 at Batu Gajah prison in Perak.
Lim was posthumously (after death) awarded the rank of major general by the Chinese Nationalist Government. In 1954, a pagoda memorial honoring Lim Bo Seng was erected in Singapore.
