On this day, 83 years ago, on February 15, 1942 (January 1, 1942 in the lunar calendar), Singapore fell into the hands of the Japanese army. The British troops defending Singapore surrendered unconditionally On February 15, 1942, the British troops defending Singapore surrendered unconditionally. More than 130,000 British and Commonwealth soldiers were captured, while the Japanese front line troops only had more than 60,000 people. The captives were sent to concentration camps and prisons, where they endured humiliation, atrocities, slavery and hunger for more than three years. Not many people survived by the end of the war. A woman cries bitterly at her dead child in Singapore