SINGAPORE – After the Japanese occupied Singapore in February 1942, all men and working women had to carry a pink labour identity booklet issued by the Labour Association.

These booklets from the Malaya Sumatra Romukanrikyokai allowed the military administration to track the adult male population and the availability of labourers.

Within months, residents were weighed down by other documents reflecting the harsh conditions of life: ration cards, bicycle registration cards, and permits for buying condensed milk or cloth.

Concurrently, the Japanese military police issued registration certificates to China immigrants arriving in Singapore, known as Syonan during the occupation. Chinese men aged 18 to 50 were screened at five inspection centres to determine if they supported China or were against Japan.

At those inspection centres, a single rectangular stamp would determine their fates.

Those who “passed” received the stamp on their documents, clothing, or arms and were released. The rest were loaded onto trucks and taken to mass execution sites – a tragedy in Singapore’s history known as Sook Ching, meaning “to purge or cleanse”.

Such artefacts are featured in a new book, Remembering Syonan: 80 Objects From Occupied Singapore. It will launch at the National Library on Sept 12 – exactly 81 years to the day after the formal Japanese surrender.