Compensation for S'pore PoWs

Compensation for S'pore PoWs

SINGAPORE (AFP): More than 70 Singaporean survivors of
Japanese World War II prison camps are seeking compensation from
Britain for their wartime suffering, a report said on Friday.

The claims were lodged after the British War Pensions Agency
ruled that Singaporeans were eligible for a 10,000 pound
(US$15,000) payout awarded to British survivors of Far East PoW
camps.

"The war years were terrible and many people were badly
treated by the Japanese. The money will not make us forget the
pain but it will be a great help in our old age," said former PoW
Jimmy Chew, 76.

Chew was only 16 and working as an aero-engine fitter in the
British army here when he was captured, The Straits Times
reported on Friday. Group Capt. Chris Le Bar, defense adviser to
the British High Commission in Singapore, said between 70 and 80
people, mostly Singaporeans, had collected application forms in
the city state.