Hua Hong Ice Factory : Rearing of Pigs and Ducks

My grandfather's first wife, my father's mother, died at age 38 from child birth, making her one of the earliest maternity mortality statistics figure in Sibu. She had given birth to 9 children, 4 boys and 5 girls. Grandfather chose a hardworking woman as his new wife. She too passed away at age 38 after giving birth to 8 children.


As kids we were told how Grandmother Wong passed away and how sad it was for my aunts and uncles who were then very young. It was tough to be without a mother and also to have a father who had to make ends meet. It was not easy for any man to look after a large brood of children.

 As mothers we used to shiver at thoughts of a tragedy striking at child birth even in the days when medical knowledge had improved tremondously.

This is the story of her passing and recounted by her daughters, my aunts.


Our family's second Grandmother, Wong, was a very hardworking mother. Even when the Second World War was raging, she was actively involved in making her little farm thrive with activities. She worked almost non-stop every day.

She did her best to put food on the table, look after her aging parents in law, who were my great grandparents, besides looking after  her own growing brood of children. By 1944 she had given birth to 8 children and she was barely 37 years old.

My aunts said that she had very little nourishment herself and was always letting her children eat well, besides providing the best food on the table for Grandfather Kung Ping, Great Grandfather King Kee and Great Grandmother.


She must have loved rearing chickens. She enjoyed calling out to them and watching them grow bigger every day. She also loved rearing ducks and the pretty little pink piglets.

She had a large brood of ducks which multiplied very quickly. Most people commented that those who had special love for farm animals could rear the best broods of animals. She indeed was one of those people.

Because the family lived on an island between Sibu and Kerto, very few Japanese soldiers ever came to the place to check on the population so it was quite a safe place for the Hua Hong Ice Factory owners and employees to rear enough ducks , and other animals for their own consumption. Besides the rice mill attached to the Hua Hong Ice Factory was also a place where the Japanese could tax the rice milled. Occasionally the Japanese soldiers would come to collect the rice tax, in kind, of course. After that they left the ordinary people to do what they needed to do every day.

The earnings from milling of rice usually more in kind than cash also provided lots of rice for the family.Most of the people came from Sg, Bidut, Pulau Kerto and some came as far as Kanowit. These farmers would try their best to avoid the Japanese. But it was a very cat and mouse affair. Those who were unlucky got caught while milling because the Japanese would come in their fast long boat with powerful engines. A cousin remarked once that she was so scared to hear the sound of outboard engines for years because it would mean that the Japanese soldiers were coming and she and the other girls had to hide in a store room amongst all the gunny sacks, tongs and equipment. They had to stay there for almost two hours.

It was almost the end of the pacific War and Grandmother Wong was carrying her 9th child when tragedy struck.


For three days she was getting ready a small cage for a few piglets that she wanted to rear. Already exhausted from the daily grind of her duties and chores, she continued to nail the small planks together to form a makeshift shelter for her piglets. For some personal reasons she wanted to construct the little pigsty for her piglets.

My aunts and uncles were excited about the piglets but they did not realise that their mother would have a miscarriage.

She started haemorrhaging in the evening but because it was already too dark to cross the wide Rajang River, and also it was the Japanese Occupation, my grandfather decided to get the doctor only the next day.


By the morning, she was already very weak as she had lost too much blood. My 7th aunt, Chiew who was barely 11 years old at that time was also exhausted from trying to soak up all the blood with "birth paper" and the blanket. When the doctor arrived, it was too late and he felt very very sad that he could not save the dying patient. It was so unexpected for him to see the situation and it was also very  tragic because the patient was going to leave 8 young children and a widowed husband behind.

According to Aunt Chiew, she was numbed from grief as she slowly watched  a good life slipping away. It indeed was a very sad day for the family, especially for our Great Grandparents and Grandfather.

Grandmother Wong was one of the most hardworking women in Sibu. She was like all the other pioneering Foochow women who worked extremely hard and made everything from scratch. Many relatives remember one particular skills she had : she made very delicious kuih for her family and relatives. She was a very gentle lady with a very meticulous touch in whatever she did.

Her death brought to light the unnecessary tragedy of a woman who lost her life because of lack of medical care during a war, the lack of transport, and the lack of pre-natal and post natal care during a crisis. It was also a reminder to many leaders of how much suffering a mother had to endure during the times of war while still carrying a child in her womb.


She was a very brave woman who did her best, in her short life. She left behind 8 children

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In the UK, the Church of England prayer book has not long ago removed the service for the ‘churching of women who had recently given birth’ which starts by giving thanks to God for:

‘The safe deliverance and preservation from the great dangers of childbirth.’