from the memory of John Duncan

This incident has been misreported in several publications, including an article in The Times of London.

What happened was that on a wet and darkening evening, 10th September 1951, in an area that was then rubber and secondary jungle, west of the Cheras Road just beyond the Jalan Tun Razak junction, the Hares, who were presumably not far ahead of the pack, stumbled over some men wrapped in groundsheets sleeping on the ground. The following pack found the men on their feet, but kept running and escaped without injury. One of the members ran to Cheras Road Police Station to raise the alarm, and a party from the Suffolk Regiment was dispatched to the vicinity.

The Suffolks set up ambush positions round the area, and in the morning shot three communists trying to break out, one of whom was found to be a senior officer with a price of RM5,000, a considerable amount of money in those days, on his head. The Hash members who were not government servants claimed the money, government employees not being allowed to participate, and one report has it that they hosted a party with the proceeds.

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Last updated on 14 September 2001