Lau King Howe Hospital during the Japanese Occupation

 The 3 years 8 months of Japanese Occupation in Sibu saw the Lau King Howe Hospital being completely taken over by the Japanese Kompetai.

The local people were not able to enjoy medical care and had to resort to barefoot midwives for childbirth and home remedies for any illnesses. Those who could afford could see the few private doctors and Chinese sin seh in town.

As a result many died from lack of medication especially those who needed urgent medical attention. One of them was my maternal grandfather who was suffering from a inguinal hernia (hernia which caused a weak spot in the intestines). It was often said that my grandfather suffered from this ailment because when he was young, and as a carpenter he lifted too many heavy items by brute strength. Grandfather was known as a man of great strength, a local weight lifter.

The Chinese especially suffered more from beatings, inprisonment and public humiliation during those days.

British Borneo was named Kita Boruneo under the Japanese. Sarawak was divided into Kyuchin-shu (first and Second Divisons, Sarawak), Shibu-shu (Third Division), Miri-shu (Sarawak fourth and Fifth Divisions)

In fact, under the Japanese occupation British Borneo were divided into five provinces (shūs):

• Kyūchin-shū (久鎮州): Sarawak First and Second Divisions, Pontianak and Natuna Islands.^{[note 2]}
• Shibu-shū (志布州): Sarawak Third Division
• Miri-shū (美里州): Sarawak Fourth and Fifth Divisions, Brunei Town.
• Seigan-shū (西岸州): Western North Borneo of Api, Beaufort, Kota Belud, Kota Marudu, Keningau, Weston and Labuan.

• Tōgan-shū (東岸州): Eastern North Borneo of Elopura, Beluran, Lahad Datu and Tawau.
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Each of the five shūs had a Japanese provincial governor, or the administration remained in the hands of the local people with Japanese surveillance.

Each of the provinces constituted prefectures or ken (県). And many places were given Japanese names e.g.^] Jesselton and Sandakan were renamed Api and Elopura respectively. ( Wikipedia)

The Lau King Howe Hospital of sibu was a joint venture of the Sibu Foochow People and the Sarawak government. Lau King Howe himself a Foochow, before he left sibu for home in China (he knew he was sick), donated a sum of money to build the hospital for the people of Sibu. The hospital was built in the 1920's and started operating in the 1930's, "to serve all communities living in the Rajang Valley".

When the Japanese arrived, this modern, concrete Lau King Howe Hospital was still new and very modern.

So the privileged and the Japanese were given treatment by the hospital during that time.

There were a few private practitioners, like Dr. Chiu Nai Ding, Dr. Chee Ching nang, Dr. Xavier and Dresser Wong Chu Hua ready to help people and save lives. They also made house calls.

Maternity cases were handled by barefoot midwives. Although in those days, several wives of the local Foochows were China trained nurses and midwives, many childbirths caused fatalities especially those with complications. All babies were delivered at home hence mother and infant mortality rates were high. 

There was a Foochow saying, "When bleeding started during child birth, it was only a matter of time for death to take place." Women waited and watched the clock for death to come.

My Grandmother Wong was hard at work, making a pig sty for her new piglets. Probably due to the exertion she started having her miscarriage in the afternoon,. Although my grandfather crossed the river in his small boat to fetch a doctor to the Hua Hong Ice Factory, it was too late and too complicated. Dr. Chiu, gave her some medication and an injection to probably ease her pains but it was too complicated. By 10 pm she breathed her last.

That year our Tiong family lost two members, Great Grandfather Tiong King Kee and Grandmother Wong. The losses were unbearable for Grandfather. 

British Military Administration (BMA) took over the task of management from the Australians on 12 September 1945 

Normalcy came with the BMA and several new and foreign doctors arrived in town, mainly to serve the Lau King Howe Hospital.

(Sibu born medical doctors were my father's first cousin, Dr, Chong Chung Hian and my mother's class mate, Dr. Wong Soon Kai who graduated only in the 1950's. They both served the Lau King Howe Hospital when they graduated and went on to become very prominent people.)