Sibu Stories : Why did Lau Kah Tii keep a beard?

Why did my grand uncle Lau Kah Tii keep a goatee after the Second World War?



As a  Foochow community leader for many years after Wong Nai Siong left Sibu, Lau Kah Tii maintained his leadership during the Japanese Occupation.

The Japanese bombed Sibu in 1941 December and occupied Sibu for 3 years and 8 months.

In 1942 August 15th  The Japanese Commandent gave the command to arrest the 27 Committee Members of the China Nation Building Fund. Lau Kah Tii was one of them. They were held in prison for 33 days. They were released on 15th Sept.

He had grown a very white goatee and he decided to keep it for the rest of his life to remember the days of the inprisonment.

Although all the 27 members of the Committee were released, they were still on secret surveillance by the Japanese. But nothing untoward actually happen to them.